Twin Dragons of Valla
by OneShaman1
Summary: A pre-sequel to Two Halves of a Whole. The corruption of the silent dragons grows with each day, threatening to throw two kingdoms into a war. The wielder of the legendary Yato is the only hope to defeat him and yet, the corrupted dragon is not the only obstacle in the way to peace. F!AvatarxXander, Fire Emblem: Fates (Revelation path) retold with differences.
1. Prologue

**Summary:**

A pre-sequel to _Two Halves of a Whole_. The corruption of the silent dragons grows with each day, threatening to throw two kingdoms into a war. The wielder of the legendary Yato is the only hope to defeat him and yet, the corrupted dragon is not the only obstacle in the way to peace. F!AvatarxXander, Fire Emblem: Fates (Revelation path) retold with differences.

 **Author's Note:** The Avatar/Corrin is named Kaguya in this story.

Her appearance:

Body: F2

Hair: 02

Accessoires: 01

Color: 26

Face: 02

Detail: 04

Voice: F1

 **Prologue: The downfall of Valla**

The roar of the dragon caused the ground to tremble, it split apart and started to float away. Villages were destroyed, houses ruined and the rampaging dragon made one tremble in fear. Fire was painting the skyline and surroundings red.

"You have to run faster!" A woman with short light aqua blue hair shouted towards an other woman who was following her, gasping.

"I… I can't leave him here… even if he is a part of…" But she had no chance to speak as semi-visible creatures attacked them and both women managed to fend them off, but had to keep on running as they were outnumbered.

The two women were carrying small children in their arms, one was a small infant of around half a year and the other one was a newborn baby and the two children were crying while their mothers tried to calm them.

"Arete! There are Faceless in front of us!" The woman with long black hair shouted and the woman she called Arete hissed, stopping in her tracks.

"We're outnumbered, Mikoto!"

Standing back by back, the two women only watched the monsters surround them - monsters who once used to be live people.

"N-no…"

However, the Faceless had no chance of attacking them as something akin to azure colored light hit them, making them disappear in dust. Mikoto and Arete rose their heads in surprise and watched a woman approach them with long azure hair and unusual ears and eyes.

"Phew. Good thing I managed to catch up to you." She said, but the two women kept being wary of her.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Aria, Anko's sister. Worry not, I'm not your enemy. I came to help you escape. Now, follow me!" She turned around and started to run and both Arete and Mikoto looked at each other, not knowing if they truly should listen to the woman but as they had no other option, they rushed after her.

Aria led them through some hidden passages where they were hidden from sight and she also fought off the Faceless for them.

Mikoto was staring at the woman in amazement, unable to comprehend why she would help them when she was the sister of the one she loved. Looking down in her arms she stared at her baby girl which has stopped crying, but looked very frightened.

"Don't worry, Kaguya. We're going to get out of this safely."

Just as she said that, the ground below their feet trembled once again and it started to split apart.

Aria stopped running and turned around, opening her mouth to shout something, but the ground ripped apart further and caught Arete who lost her footing.

"Sister!" Mikoto shouted and ran towards Arete who fell, a horrified expression on her face. Arete disappeared screaming in the darkness and Mikoto fell to her knees on the edge of the rift, tearing up but Aria's hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality.

"We have to hurry!"

"B-but… Arete…"

"She's fine, I can sense it. But you have to run - not only for yourself, but also for your daughter. Now get up!" Aria gripped Mikoto's upper arm and dragged her back to her feet. Soon they reached the border between Valla and Hoshido as the country was completely swallowed and disappeared into nothingness, leaving a seemingly bottomless canyon between the countries of Hoshido and Nohr.

"Good." Aria sighed relieved. "We managed to escape."

"Arete…" Mikoto whispered and sobbed, hanging her head as the tears came. "Anko…"

"I can feel their life energy, they are alive. I think Arete has landed somewhere in Nohr." Aria answered and walked up to the edge of the canyon, looking down. "I suppose now it's the only way to enter Valla…"

"But what has happened to…"

"Don't say it!" Aria quickly shouted and Mikoto glanced at her in confusion.

"W-what?"

"He has placed a curse upon Valla and his own name. If anyone dares to speak of it, they will disappear into nothingness - simpler said, they die."

"But you…"

"I'm different than you humans. His petty little curse does not affect me in the least." She shrugged and approached Mikoto, her eyes fixated on the baby in her arms. "She's a cute one, that Kaguya. Looks a lot like her father."

"Yes…" Mikoto whispered and also peered at her child.

"It would be best for you to head to the capital of Hoshido and speak with the king, Sumeragi. I can imagine he will help you if you tell him your home was destroyed." Aria proposed.

"But how I am to tell him when I'm not allowed to talk about my home?"

"You don't need to say anything, just tell him your entire village was burned to ash by unknown forces and you have nowhere to go. Besides, my dear brother wiped the memories of the people outside of Valla from the knowledge of the country so Sumeragi wouldn't know what you are talking about, even if you could speak about Valla." Aria shook her head. "Now, I will teleport you there. I wish you luck in finding a new home."

She raised her arms and a circle of light appeared under Mikoto who looked down in surprise at first but then up again.

"I… thank you…"

"There's no need to thank me." A smile formed on Aria's lips as Mikoto disappeared in bright light, leaving Aria behind. She looked from the spot where Mikoto had been standing a moment ago and then glanced over to the rift in the ground, created by the vanishing Valla.

"Oh, brother. What did happen to you…?"


	2. Chapter I

**Chapter I**

The sun was setting behind the trees of Nohr's skyline, painting the sky red and pink and a young woman was sitting in a plain bluish-white frilly summer dress by the window in a high tower, long straight azure blue hair streaming down her shoulders and back and her red eyes were fixated on the beautiful scenery outside of the bay window. Her porcelain skin was tinted red because of the light of the setting sun.

She was holding a thick book in her lap, one of many she possessed.

Her eyes lingered longingly on the scenery outside of her and she wished once again to be able to go out and see the world.

For as long as she could remember, she was cooped up in the Northern Fortress and her father, King Garon, did not permit her to leave. So her only way to pass time was training, studying or reading books - her only companions were her retainers and her four siblings which occasionally visited her.

Usually, the four of them were coming to see her very often, but as they had been busy in the past few days they had no chance to come - another reason why she was feeling very lonely lately. Even her aunt Aria, who was sometimes coming to see her during night time, sometimes during the day and told her about the world outside and taught her several other things, such as a very efficient way of fighting, was visiting her more rarely these days. She was a very powerful person as she was able to stop the time around the Fortress whenever she visited and displayed astonishing power in both swordplay and magic which she taught Kaguya.

From what the young woman has found out, Aria was actually a dragon who mostly wandered the world in her human form but when she told her retainers and siblings about her, they assumed it was an imaginary friend Kaguya created out of loneliness. However, Aria was not only a sealed dragon - she was also her aunt from her father's side. When Kaguya has asked whether she meant King Garon, Aria said no and started to talk to her about some things in riddles telling her she will contingently understand.

"Lady Kaguya." One of her maids, a young woman from the Ice Tribe named Felicia, approached her with a smile. "Your dinner is ready."

"Thank you, Felicia." Kaguya turned her head to the maid and smiled which caused Felicia to grow flustered.

"Oh, please. You don't have to thank me… especially because it wasn't me who cooked your dinner."

"Yet you came to inform me. That's what I thank you." Kaguya told her gently and got up, putting the book aside on her desk standing next to the bay window.

She followed Felicia down to the dining hall which was only furnitured with a very long table where around thirty people could be seated, but usually it was only Kaguya sitting there. Her meal was laid out prepared at the end of the table and Kaguya's butler Jakob was standing next to the chair, looking professional as always.

Jakob, though being born a noble, was abandoned by his parents and Kaguya found him one day crying the fortress' gardens. At first he was reluctant to tell her what has happened but once he did, Kaguya grew compassionate and asked him to come and live with her in the fortress. Alas, as the only way to have him live there was him to become a butler, Jakob underwent the training and pledged his complete loyalty to Kaguya.

"Please have a seat, Milady." Jakob said and pulled the chair away for her to sit down. Kaguya giggled as she seated herself in the chair and Jakob shot her a confused look.

"I told you so many times Jakob, you don't need to be so formal with me."

"And as I told you so many times, milady, I can not do that." He answered in a very serious tone to which Kaguya only rolled her eyes and took the fork and knife in her hands and started to eat.

While she was eating, Jakob informed her that her siblings would come and visit her in the early morning which made her feel ecstatic. She hasn't seen any of them for a few days, only received letters from them, and so was looking forward to see them.

Though she was missing all of her siblings, she missed her elder brother Xander the most. He might have an intimidating appearance, but he was a kind man and he often worried about Kaguya as she was almost all alone in the fortress and promised her to take her to many different places once their father permits her to leave.

Xander was also the most affectionate towards her, next to Camilla and he had often spent hours training and studying with her during his visits.

Kaguya quickly finished eating and after speaking to Jakob for a while she headed to the library to study for a bit, but the news of her siblings' arrival tomorrow morning was making her feel too excited and she couldn't concentrate at all. If her younger brother Leo would be here, he would scold her for not paying attention which made her giggle.

She spent some time studying and reading diverse books and then trained her swordplay with another one of her retainers, Gunter who was someone like Kaguya's caretaker for as long as she could remember, until it was time to sleep.

Since she was going to be visited early in the morning tomorrow, she planned to go early to bed but due to her excitement she just couldn't fall asleep and thrashed around on her canopy bed.

Kaguya was happy they all were going to visit her and hoped they would be staying for the rest of the day with her, but she would never voice her desire to not conflict them with her selfish needs.

Usually, she spent time with her siblings separately during their visits. Her youngest sister Elise was either pulling pranks on Kaguya or played with her; Leo mostly helped her with her studies and taught her how to use magic and her older sister Camilla was constantly doting on her during her visits and was next to Xander the one who visited her the most.

Xander - though being quite busy - was visiting Kaguya as much as he could and often stayed for some days until certain duties required his presence but even then he wrote her a letter every day. Initially, he was the one who introduced the way of the sword to Kaguya giving that he also used a blade in battle and helped her training.

Even so, Xander seemed to love spending time with her as he often took her on a stroll around the grounds of the Northern Fortress and helps her studying or just spends time chatting with Kaguya which delights her.

Reminiscing about the past, Kaguya slowly started to doze away until she fell into a deep slumber.

At first she seemed to be floating in darkness when she suddenly found herself in a spacious field with grass tickling her ankles. She could hear the sounds of battle and people screaming something she couldn't comprehend.

"W-what…?" Kaguya looked around when a woman with flaming red hair riding a white pegasus approached her and made Tsubasa wince back.

"Come on, Kaguya! We've got work to do!" She shouted, but Kaguya only stared at her in amazement, she had no idea how she came to know her name or who this woman was but for some reason she trusted her.

Following the woman, she eventually reached two other people who were fighting on the vast battlefields against heavily armored soldiers.

"Takumi, Sakura!" The red-haired woman shouted and both of them turned around immediately. One of them was a young man, an archer with an unique looking bow and the other one a young healer maiden.

Kaguya was approaching them when she noticed Xander from the corner of her eyes and stopped moving, staring at her older brother in disbelief who was battling a man with a long reddish brown mane.

"Nohrian general! You face the high prince of Hoshido, Ryoma! I challenge you to single combat!" He shouted and charged at Xander.

"I will accept your challenge, high prince. But I'm no general. I am crown prince Xander of Nohr!" Xander shouted as their two blades clashed. Kaguya wanted to run over to him and tell him to stop the fighting, but a fighter suddenly attacked her and she barely dodged, the blade slightly cutting her cheek. She tried to fight back with a special sword she was carrying, but the attacker dodged. The red-haired woman on the pegasus jumped in front of Kaguya when she was about to be attacked again.

"Kaguya, what's the matter, you seem distracted." She sounded worried and grabbed a tissue out of a pocket, dabbing Kaguya's wound with it. "If you're worried, don't be. All your brothers and sisters are here with you. The Nohrians don't stand a chance!"

The woman sounded confident and Kaguya wanted to tell her she was a Nohrian as well, and ask her what she meant by all her brothers and sisters but couldn't as they were surrounded by more soldiers which Kaguya recognized as the Nohrian forces. Fighting her way through the soldiers surrounding her and wondering what was going on, she could spot Camilla, Leo and Elise far away with Camilla activating a Dragon Vein which caused the river to dry up.

"The Nohrian army used a Dragon Vein to dry up the river! I thought only royals held that power…" The pegasus rider mumbled in shock and the archer next to her nodded.

"Yeah, which means there must be some real big shots over there. Suits me just fine, I've always wanted to use a Nohrian royal for target practice." He grinned as more Nohrian reinforcements arrived and the red-haired woman eventually left them with them fighting the soldiers. They managed to decimate the ambush when more troops from both sides appear and she finds Xander and her other three siblings move closer to her with Xander reaching out to her but before he could reach her, the man who introduced himself as Ryoma stepped in his way with his sword ready.

Kaguya was too confused by the scene to understand what was exactly going on, but when she made one step towards both of them her surroundings changed suddenly to a mountain - at least, she thought it to be a mountain but turned out to be a gigantic dragon with a head almost solely consisting of an eye. Shocked by the sight of a dragon - one that nearby completely covered the sky above - and looked around in search of all the people who were with her a moment ago, but they were all gone.

Looking back to the dragon, she noticed someone standing by the feet of the dragon. She couldn't see who it was due to the hood of their cloak being pulled deep into their face, but the body built told Kaguya it was a woman.

She was wearing an unusual black and purple cloak with weird eyes on the sleeves and the hood and an azure tome was strapped by belts to her waist. A small sadistic smirk flashed over her lips as she raised her arms.

"Goodbye, Mother!" The woman shouted and Kaguya found herself surrounded by azure light - in the next moment everything grew black.

"Lady Kaguya!" Someone was calling her name in the darkness. "Time to wake up!"

With a moan, Kaguya slightly opened her eyes and raised her arms to rub the sleep out of them.

"Hey, wake up Lady Kaguya!"

Still a bit groggy, Kaguya looked around to see her two maids Flora and Felicia standing next to her bed.

"It's still dark outside…" Kaguya muttered half asleep and yawned as she stretched her limbs.

"It might be dark, but it is morning. And you have practice today!" Flora announced and clasped her hands. "Jakob has readied your armor. Now get up, please."

"Ugh… I'm not completely awake though…" Kaguya groaned when suddenly Felicia approached her with Flora and put their hands around Kaguya's neck, using their ice tribe powers to make her feel cold.

"Waaah!" Kaguya shouted as she scrambled away from them and off the bed. "Cold! I'm awake! Totally awake!"

"That's how we deal with slugabeds in the Ice Tribe!" Felicia laughed.

"Ugh, I know. It's not the first time you both woke me up like that." Kaguya sighed heavily as she let the maids do her job in helping Kaguya with her morning routine. "I had a weird dream, though…"

"What kind of dream was it?" Flora asked as she brushed Kaguya's long hair.

"It was quite a strange one - the strangest one I ever had, I reckon. Some people who looked like Hoshidians were calling me their sister even though all my brothers and sisters are here in Nohr… and then a huge dragon and another person appeared who tried to strike me…" Her mind went back to the dream, which had felt so vivid Kaguya still believed she might have been on that field. She was still lost deep in thoughts when suddenly the door opened and a curvaceous woman with long wavy purple hair walked in.

"Kaguya, my darling. Here you are!"

"Good morning, Camilla." Kaguya replied and watched her older sister walk towards her with a gentle smile and embraced her.

"Oh, and a good morning to you. You are growing more adorable as each day passes." Camilla said affectionately and stroked over Kaguya's azure hair.

"Now you're exaggerating." Kaguya pouted which made her sister giggle as she let her go and helped her put on her armor.

"Oh, I'm not darling. But we should hurry, our brother is waiting for you." Camilla said as she straightened Kaguya's dark blue cape and lead her to the rooftop which was used as training grounds for Kaguya. In the past she feared she might fall down if she stumbles, but magic shields made it impossible to fall over the edge.

Arriving on the rooftop, Kaguya could already see her brothers Xander and Leo standing there and talking with each other. Upon noticing her approaching them, the brothers turned to her and Kaguya noticed Xander's constant frown softening as he stared at her.

"Good morning." She beamed at the two of them and was greeted back. Though both males were trying to hide their fatigue, Xander was better at it than Leo who hid a yawn and tried to straighten his collar.

Xander proceeded to explain that today, they won't be training like usual but rather, he would test her with her victory being the permission to leave the Northern Fortress.

At first, Kaguya thought her brother was joking but after Leo told her it was no jest, Kaguya felt herself more excited and determined to win although her chances of victory against Xander were slim.

She has sparred with Xander many times in the past and she knew a lot of his techniques, but she could barely land a blow on him. Her sword felt weirdly heavy in her hand and she was kind of scared she might hurt him though this was unlikely to happen.

Since Kaguya had mainly learnt her swordplay techniques from her older brother and Gunter, she rarely used the ones Aria taught her which had been far more advanced than anything she saw in her life; swordplay looking very similar to dancing steps. And so Kaguya used these techniques to defeat Xander who nodded with a satisfied smile as Kaguya's blade knocked his out of his hand.

"Well done, Kaguya." He said as he picked up the training sword and walked towards Kaguya, putting a hand on her shoulder with a proud look. "You're getting stronger everyday."

"Thank you, Xander. I couldn't have done it with… er, your tough love…" She said with a glorified smile but Xander shook his head.

"I disagree. I believe you have natural talent. Some day, you could be the greatest warrior in all of Nohr." He replied with a stern look as the two of them were joined by Leo.

"Now you're just teasing me." Kaguya answered, feeling flustered by Xander's comment and a faint flush crept across her cheeks. Xander stared at her, almost like entranced, but in the next moment showed once again his serious frown.

"You know me, Kaguya. I never joke about serious matters. I mean what I say. You could be the one to bring light to our kingdom so long shrouded in darkness." Xander's words made Kaguya feel flustered once again when Leo butted in and told them that magic was equally important in battle to swords. As Xander tried to calm the young prince, Kaguya noticed Leo's collar which made her smile. It seemed like he has gotten dressed quite in a hurry today.

"Leo, there's something I meant to tell you."

"Something important enough to derail this conversation?" Leo asked her snappishly to which Kaguya pointed at his collar.

"Well… your collar is inside out."

"W-what?" Leo winced and grabbed his collar in a horrified expression. As a perfectionist, it was probable that it truly bothered him.

"It would appear someone got dressed while still half-asleep." Xander let out a small chuckle as Leo ran off to correct his appearance while shouting why no one told him about that. Kaguya laughed at his angry expression since he was shooting glares at her when Camilla and their youngest sister Elise joined them. Kaguya was almost immediately bear-hugged by Elise who had a stronger grip than her petite body would imply.

Camilla continued the conversation by telling her Kaguya was allowed to come with them to the capital which made her even more excited as the siblings returned to the fortress.

Inside, they were greeted by Lilith - a maid working under Kaguya who was exceptionally fond of the princess.

"Milady!" Lilith shouted as soon as she spotted Kaguya and came running over to her. "I hear you can finally leave the fortress! You must be very happy, Lady Kaguya. Gunter has asked me to go with you to the capital so I can look after your horses." Lilith clasped her hands together, looking as excited as Kaguya herself.

"Glad to hear that! I would miss you if you weren't coming along too." Kaguya nodded when she heard Xander asking Lilith whether the horses were ready.

"Yes, milord. Everything is ready, and the horses seem excited for the trip. They are all very fond of Lady Kaguya. Probably from all her time in the stables…" Lilith sighed and grew quiet. Camilla started to chuckle after listening to their conversation.

"Our little Kaguya does love animals. Such a kindhearted soul… Why, she even nursed an injured baby bird back to health one time!"

"Ah…" Lilith looked surprised for a moment and looked down when Kaguya asked her if everything was all right, mumbling that it was nothing. Kaguya realized that something might be wrong but decided to not pry.

A short time later, everyone except the Ice Tribe twins headed out to the capital of Windmire; to Castle Krakenburg where King Garon was waiting.


	3. Chapter II

**Chapter II**

They arrived in the throne room at noon, with King Garon sitting in his throne staring at Kaguya who approached him, bowing deeply before him.

"I see you made here safely, Kaguya." King Garon showed no joy at seeing his daughter which made Kaguya feel uncomfortable, but she decided to not show it.

"Yes, Father. Long have I wished to see you and visit Castle Krakenburg again. I feel like I'm dreaming…" She muttered as she looked around with a happy expression, but King Garon cut her off.

"It's only thanks to your diligence that you are here. I am told you are now a warrior almost on par with Xander. You finally possess the strength to be an instrument of Nohr's power in the world." King Garon showed an indifferent smile as he looked at her, but he seemed to not really _see_ her. "Kaguya, as you know, Nohr is at war with the eastern kingdom Hoshido."

"Yes, Father. I have heard as much." Kaguya answered, feeling weird in her chest at the thought that the two kingdoms were battling each other.

"We of the royal family are descendants of the ancient gods, the First Dragons. As inheritors of that divine strength, we conquer those who oppose us with ease. One who learns to wield that power can destroy an entire army of common troops. Xander, Camilla and Leo have already shown that they possess this power. I expect no less from you."

"I… am aware of your expectations, Father. And I have trained every day to become more like my siblings…" Kaguya felt uncomfortable at her father's words and gritted her teeth.

"Hmm… you show promise. But you will need a suitable weapon in order to serve Nohr." A servant brought Kaguya a weirdly shaped weapon, holding it out to her. It was made out of a weird metal and was dark in color, emitting a purple hue.

"Oh…" Kaguya muttered, not able to tear her eyes from the sword. Though she should be happy for the present, she was too terrified of it to say anything.

"This is Ganglari, a sword infused with magic from another world. With this sword at your side, you will crush the Hoshidian army with ease." King Garon explained to Kaguya as she gripped the hilt of the blade, a voice in the back of her head screaming to throw it away right this moment.

"Thank you for this… generous gift, Father." She said and heard Xander mumble something behind her, glancing at her older brother she could see the worry in his eyes.

"Now, let us see you put that sword to its proper use… Bring out the prisoners!" King Garon commanded a nearby soldiers and Kaguya made a mortified expression, looking around to see a woman and men being brought in. "Those are prisoners from our most recent skirmish with Hoshido. I want to see your power with my own eyes."

Through a chain of unfortunate events, Kaguya found herself standing right in front of four Hoshidian soldiers with her retainers Gunter and Jakob. She knew her father was expecting her to kill them, but she couldn't even fathom the thought of doing so. She looked first at the woman who glared at her with a hateful expression, then at the green-haired man who stared at her with a disbelieving look on his face. He looked quite familiar to Kaguya, it seemed like she has already seen him before but couldn't remember when or where.

Furrowing her brows, she instead decided to activate the sole Dragon Vein in the room. When she first started to learn how to use that power, Kaguya had difficulties to utilize it as no one told her how to do it; her siblings only told her she has to find out on her own. It was Aria who explained patiently what she could do with the Dragon Veins and how to tap on their power which truly helped Kaguya.

She fought the prisoners the best she could but in the end she was unable to finish them off though her father has urged her to do it - though with Leo's help they were spared and she was sent out of the throne room to think over her decisions.

Elise then helped her to talk to King Garon who gave her a leeway and told her to seize an abandoned fortress on the border of the kingdom of Hoshido without any fights which made her relieved.

Her siblings showed concern when Kaguya told her about her mission - especially when the soldier Hans was said to come along.

Shortly before she set off with Gunter, Jakob and Hans Xander came over to Kaguya and pulled her to the side, clasping her shoulders looking very serious.

"I'd be wary that man if I were you, Kaguya…"

"Why do you say that?" Kaguya looked surprised at her brother, her heart unexpectedly jumping a bit as he moved closer. Xander lowered his voice as he continued to speak.

"He's a criminal. A murderer and scoundrel. I arrested him myself, years ago. Father seems to think he's rehabilitated, but I'm not so sure. That said, he is a formidable soldier."

"I see…" Kaguya muttered and took a quick glance over to the spot where she met Hans just a moment before and it gave her goosebumps.

"Be careful around him, little princess. I will tell Gunter and Jakob to watch out as well." He looked unsure for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but let go of her to ruffle through her hair. "I'd hate to see you get hurt."

With that, he hesitantly walked off and Kaguya joined the Gunter and Jakob without glancing at Hans. During the travel she noticed that her retainers didn't let Hans come too close to her and Kaguya did not mind it. She was terrified of the criminal and though she tried her best to not let anyone notice.

A few hours later, they reached the Bottomless Canyon of which she has already heard stories about. She was doing her best to not look too much over the railing of the bridge.

"Wow… Is this it? The Bottomless Canyon?"

"Yes. It's the natural boundary dividing Nohr and Hoshido." Gunter explained, stepping closer as if to watch out for her to not fall.

"But it can't be really bottomless, can it?"

"Let the eternal darkness below you answer. Those who fall in never return… I truly despise this place. Something about the land around here just isn't right. The sky here is always dark and foreboding, and lightning strikes all who fly across. This is clearly a place us mortals were never meant to enter… But the fort that King Garon wants surveyed is right over there." Gunter then pointed ahead to a building and Kaguya stretched her neck to see it. It was an abandoned fort which made Kaguya wonder why her father would want to have it in his control.

"Oh, it's not bad. Or perhaps I'm just happy to be outside in the fresh air! Compared to the inside of that fortress, this is downright exciting."

"Ha! That certainly puts things in perspective, milady. Come, let's proceed." Gunter then lead her the way Hans has walked off where Hoshidian forces were waiting for them and though Gunter has said to retreat, Hans attacked the soldiers which forced Kaguya to fight them. Halfway through the fight, Hans disappeared somewhere but Gunter told the princess to concentrate on the battle - with their help she then managed to reach the guard Omozu.

"Do you even realize what you've done here today?! Hoshido won't stand for unprovoked attacks like this! Revenge will be ours!" He shouted at Kaguya as she rushed towards him with her sword, attacking her with star-shaped throwing weapons. Not used to these kinds of weapons and the Hoshidan fighting style, Kaguya did not manage to parry or dodge them all - some were caught by her armor but others cut through her skin. Gritting her teeth to suppress the pain, she countered the attack but ended up even more hurt while the guard fell to the ground. Kaguya was about to turn around, thinking that she won the fight when Gunter shouted she should finish off the guard as they couldn't leave him alive.

She looked at him with a shocked expression and then at Omozu who was trying to stand up again, reaching for another Shuriken. She gripped her sword tighter and moved a step towards the guard with her body trembling. It was the first time she had to kill and she was actually too scared to do that but Kaguya doesn't wanted to disappoint her father which is why she gathered all her courage and pushed the sword into his chest, feeling gross when she felt the resistance of his bones and flesh.

"Damn you! This isn't over…" The guard gargled, spitting out blood before falling to the ground. Kaguya's knees gave in at the same time and she fell to the ground, her body trembling violently. Ganglari was still stuck through his chest and the blood seeped through his clothes into the ground, a sight that gave Kaguya goosebumps. She slid away from him, tearing up at the realization that she was now a murderer.

"T-This isn't what I had in mind…" She muttered, forcing herself to get up. Her fingers weakly grabbed the hilt of her sword and she pulled it out, once again feeling an indescribable gross feeling - almost like she was about to throw up. "But at least I've completed Father's mission."

Still talking to herself, she could hear footsteps from afar and turned around, but she couldn't see anyone - not even her retainers. She could only smell several soldiers in the bushes. It was almost like she was the only one left on the battlefield.

Suddenly, a man with a mask covering his mouth and a scar over his left eye appeared right in front of her.

"You're the leader of these troops?" He said, shooting a menacing glare at her. "Pah, You're nothing more than a girl."

"Who are you?" Kaguya demanded to know to which the man only responded with a more aggressive expression.

"My name is Saizo. I've come to claim your life." He said and before Kaguya could even react, he suddenly moved his arm with the Shuriken to her throat. She quickly closed her eyes, awaiting her death but she could see a purple flash behind her eyelids.

"I won't allow it!" A familiar voice echoed through the clearing and Kaguya was surprised at first, thinking she was imagining Xander's voice. Only she did realize it was the real deal when an arm was wrapped around her and brought her to a hard chest, opening her eyes and looking up to her brother's face.

Saizo has retreated back, staring at them both with a displeased expression.

"What?! That must be their real commander…" He hissed angrily and in the next moment, he was gone.

"What's going on here, Kaguya?" Xander asked after making sure Saizo was truly gone, a worried look on his face.

"We are under attack… the Hoshidian forces were here all the time…" She muttered, relieved to be still alive. Xander stared at her for a moment and made a movement which seemed like he wanted to hug her, but quickly relented. Instead, he put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm glad we managed to arrive in time."

" _We_?"

Just as the word left Kaguya's mouth, she could see her siblings emerge from the forest with a relieved look once seeing her unharmed.

"We've arrived just in time. Your luck never runs out, does it, Sister?" Leo said almost mockingly, but Kaguya could tell he was genuinely worried about her.

"Are you all right? I was so worried about you." Camilla said as she stopped next to her with Elise.

"I'm glad you are all here, but… we are under attack and…"

"You are hurt." Camilla then noticed the cuts in Kaguya's clothing, her voice growing as cold as ice. "Who dares attack my beloved Kaguya?! I'll have their heads on a platter!"

With that, Camilla rushed towards two Hoshidian soldiers who were standing nearby and with a skilled movement, she severed their heads. Kaguya stared at her in shock, her eyes grown bigger.

"I never knew Camilla could be so… ruthless…" Kaguya whispered and looked at herself, she wanted to check her wounds but noticed that they were gone. Her arms and legs should be filled with cuts and yet there was nothing, it was like she was never hurt.

"That's right, you've never seen her on the battlefield before." Elise giggled, as she used her staff to heal Gunter. Jakob has refused to be healed as he could do it all by himself.

Xander turned around to the forest east of them, a worse frown than usual.

"It looks like more Hoshidan reinforcements are on the way."

"Indeed... What should we do?" Leo asked, frowning.

"Well, Kaguya is safe, and the fort's condition has been evaluated. There's no reason to engage Hoshido further at this point. Kaguya, you take the lead with Gunter. We'll follow close behind." Xander told Kaguya who nodded in response and took off with her two retainers. They were on their way back, crossing the bridge when Kaguya realized that she hadn't seen Jakob in a while.

"Gunter, have you seen Jakob? He was here a second ago…" She addressed her caretaker who in turn only took a quick glance back.

"I'm sure he's right behind us. Now hurry up. I can't stand being on this bridge a moment later." He ushered her forwards, making sure that she wouldn't fall off.

"Don't worry - you won't have to stand there much longer." A voice said and Hans appeared in front of them, his axe ready to be used resting on his shoulder.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Gunter shouted but he didn't get a reply as Hans used his weapon to knock him off the bridge into the valley.

"What?! No, Gunter! Why are you doing this, Hans?!" Kaguya shouted, running over to the railing to look down. However, Gunter was already gone.

"Aw, did I knock your babysitter into the ditch? Here, you can meet up with him at the bottom!" He swung his axe once again but Kaguya reacted faster. Her rage was greater than any emotion she has felt before and she felt a weird tingling in her arm which transformed into a sort of gripper arm surrounded by something which looked like bandages.

"You'll pay for this!" She shouted and charged at him, but he was too shocked by the transformation of her arm to react.

"What?! What kind of… freak… are you?" He gasped, unable to dodge the attack coming at him and instead went down to his knees, a huge gap in his shoulder.

"It can't be…" Hans groaned, holding his wound to stop the blood.

"I want answers, Hans!" Kaguya shouted, looking angry at him as she stepped closer. "Why are you doing this? Why did you provoke the Hoshidans? And why did you kill Gunter? Answer me!"

"Just following orders. King Garon's orders." Probably intimidated by her glare, he started speaking and wobbled on his feet.

"What?! You lie!" She shouted, moving closer to Hans who then ran off. "Come back here!"

She was about to move after him when all of the sudden her sword started to behave violently, moving around in its hilt. Before she knew it, Kaguya was flung into the canyon by an unknown force.

"N-nooo!" Kaguya screamed, closing her eyes as she was falling but then heard a familiar voice shouting something. A moment later, her fall stopped and she found herself mid-air. Wondering what has happened, she looked up to see what has happened and saw something like a bird holding her up.

"Lilith? Is that you?" She muttered and the creature smiled. "What… what are you?"

"Lady Kaguya… I knew this day would come eventually. This may come as a shock, but I am not a human." Lilith sounded melancholic and sad.

"Well, I can see that. Are you… a dragon?"

"Yes, this is my true form. You've seen it before. Do you remember? That strange bird you rescued in the barn…"

Kaguya squinted her eyes, trying to remember what has happened that day she has rescued the strange bird, it did look very similar to Lilith's form right now.

"That was… you?"

"It was. Once I recovered, I was able to take human form. You were so kind to me that I decide to remain a human that I might serve you. But now I used a power that goes beyond the capacity of a human body. I will not be able to return to that form. I don't mind, though. The most important thing to me is that you're safe…"

Suddenly, she started to wobble and they once again started to descent further down the valley and Lilith started to scream.

"Lilith! Be careful! Drop me if you must… I won't have you sacrifice yourself for me!" Kaguya shouted but Lilith shook her head.

"First Dragons, I call on you! Grant us access to the astral plane!"

Suddenly, a gateway opened up underneath them and Lilith flew through it with Kaguya who closed her eyes in shock. A moment later, she found herself on a soft ground, the scent of grass filling her nose.

"Huh?" She opened her eyes to find herself in a field, surrounded by castle walls and a huge castle in the back. The sky was a clearer blue than the one in Nohr and everything was colorful. It was so much different than the things she saw in Nohr which made her grow excited once again, but she was too confused as to where she was.

"What just happened? Where… are we?" Kaguya asked and spotted Lilith floating above her.

"This is a world parallel to the one in which you live, Lady Kaguya. It is known as the astral plane." She responded, a small smile at Kaguya's confused expression.

"How were you able to get us here?" Kaguya slowly got up, still looking around in amazement. The castle in the back had an unique design which was Nohrian on the one side and Hoshidan on the other, with the throne standing atop a pedestal in the entrance.

"The First Dragons have granted us the power to inhabit this dimension. Under their protection, we are safe here. Oh! Allow me to prepare a place for you to rest." She looked happy and light surrounded the two of them and the next moment they stood right in front of a double door inside the castle.

"Did you just use a Dragon Vein to teleport us?" Kaguya asked surprised, taking a glance around to see a hallway furnished in warm colors and many other doors.

"Yes. The power of the First Dragons flows freely in this should know that space and time operate differently here as well…"

"I have so much to learn… Is there anyone else here expect of us?"

"No, we are alone. There's no one left here." Kaguya asked and noticed Lilith's expression growing sad and melancholic, she seemed to remember something she doesn't wanted.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to invoke any bad memories."

"It's okay, Lady Kaguya. I'm not lonely as long as I have you in my life. Now… you should get some." Lilith said and ushered Kaguya into the room.

It was a simple room with a nice double bed, a bookshelf filled with decorations and books, a shelf to fill with other things on the one side. On the other side was a tea table which could function as a dining table and a chest to store clothes next to the door.

"Impressive." Kaguya muttered and sat down on the mattress, just now feeling how tired she was. With a few movements, she took off her armor and placed it next to her bed before lying down on the bed.

She was wondering what her siblings were doing and whether they were worried about her suddenly disappearing, she was sure they would be worried once they arrive at the castle and realize she wasn't there.

"I wonder if Xander is worrying…" She muttered to herself, a heavy feeling in her chest. She wanted to see her older brother and hear his voice, all the things that happened during the day just made her feel terrible and she wanted to have him with her; he always managed to cheer her up, no matter what.

She kept thinking about several things that were going through her head, thinking she might not be able to fall asleep but at last, she managed to fall into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Kaguya woke up to a heavy feeling close to her legs that she hadn't noticed before. She raised her head to see what it was and giggled, Lilith was lying by her legs curled up. Lilith winced awake and turned her head to Kaguya with a groggy sight.

"How are you feeling, Kaguya? I know it was a lot to take in. Have you rested properly?"

"Yes, I have and it's truly a lot to take in - I have so many questions regarding this world. My mind is practically racing." She replied and looked at her ragged clothes which were still cut there where she had been hurt yesterday, but no sign of any injuries. "Miraculously, my injuries are gone."

"I will answer all in good time. For now, some business remains in the other world."

"Yes, you're right. I can't truly relax until I know everyone made it safely home." Kaguya nodded as she started to put on the armor and fastened the belts which was difficult, usually it were her maids that have been doing this and not her.

"Of course. There is just one thing you should know before you go back. When I open the portal, you will return to the same location you came from. That means you'll arrive right in the Hoshidan border. There may be soldiers lying in wait for you…" Lilith said, sounding worried but Kaguya only shrugged.

"I understand. I'll be ready for them."

"Very well. Then please come outside, I will open the gate."

Lilith flew out through the window and Kaguya followed her by rushing through the hallway onto the castle grounds. There, Lilith opened a special portal only for Kaguya who stepped through and found herself close to the fort she seized the day before.

"I'm back… But… where is everyone?" She asked when a voice behind her shouted something she couldn't understand and Kaguya felt a hard hit on her head, stumbling forwards at the same moment her vision grew black.


	4. Chapter III

**Chapter III**

Someone was screaming her name during her unconsciousness, it was a familiar voice yet she couldn't recognize it. It felt like someone was calling her from far away and Kaguya winced awake, sitting upright at once.

"Ah, you're awake. Sorry about the bump on your head." A female voice said, making Kaguya look around. She was sitting in a small hut, next to her was a fireplace and behind it sat a woman Kaguya vaguely recognized.

"You… you're that woman from the Flame Tribe, right? Where are we?" Kaguya demanded, though she was still wary of her.

"Yes, I am Rinkah. This is a Flame Tribe village within Hoshido's territory. I'm going to hand you over to the Hoshidan authorities." The woman responded to which Kaguya winced, her hand moving up to touch the bump on the back of her head.

"I see… I suppose they'll want to hear an explanation for the unprovoked attack. And then they'll probably execute me…" Her voice broke at the words, she could already imagine that she probably wouldn't see her siblings ever again and her heart clenched at the thought, Rinkah only snorted in response.

"Heh, I don't think so."

Just as Rinkah said that Kaguya smelled someone approaching the hut where they were staying, wincing when she heard a knock on the door. Rinkah took a look at the door and got up on her feet, beckoning the Nohrian Princess to get up as well and ushered her outside.

Blinded by the brilliant white snow outside, she covered her eyes with her hand to adjust her eyes to the brightness, wincing when her bare feet touched the cold snow. Pulling her hand away she saw the green-haired man whom she had fought when he was Garon's prisoner.

"We meet again… Kaze, right?"

"Yes. I'm glad we found you, Princess Kaguya." He said and knelt down in front of her, bowing his head. Kaguya only stared at him in confusion, furrowing her brows.

"You are? Wait, am I missing something?"

"Please, come with me. All will be explained." Kaze answered and held out his hand to her, but Kaguya refused to give him her hand. A disappointed expression flashed across Kaze's face as he pulled back his hand and lead the way down the snowy mountain though he never stayed far from Kaguya who was trying her best to not slip on the snow or ice and fall, once catching her as she was in danger of tumbling down a ravine. She couldn't understand why he was so nice to her, considering that she has invaded their grounds and killed one of their soldiers and her being from Nohr. A few times she was about to ask him but decided to swallow the things she wanted to say - it was probably naught as the Hoshidans might execute her.

Eventually, they reached a colorful town filled with trees with pink leaves which made her stare in awe - something Kaze seemed to have noticed.

"Those are cherry trees. In spring they grow those pink leaves but magic makes it possible that they stay all year long. And those buildings are distinctive to Hoshido, if you wonder." Kaze explained, leading her through the crowded streets to a huge castle, painted in warm colors. It was bigger than Castle Krakenburg and the guards standing outside of the entrance gate seemed to be friendlier.

"Welcome back, Lord Kaze." They said upon spotting the ninja who nodded. "Everyone is waiting for your return."

"E-everyone…?" Kaguya muttered to herself, starting to feel frightened. She could imagine that the regent would be waiting for her and alongside him or her a dozen of other people. Shaking her head, she instead decided to stay calm and not show her emotions, the thought of running away went through her head but they would probably catch her right away without problem.

Gritting her teeth so it hurt she followed Kaze into the throne room, being greeted by a variety of people. Some of them looked kind, some of them did not.

Kaguya wondered whether she was getting such a reception because she was a Nohrian princess which made her feel even worse, though she stayed strong and looked over the people who were standing in front of her. In front of the huge throne in the middle of the room stood a woman with long black hair who was holding her hand to her mouth, her eyes having grown bigger as if in disbelief. Left and right next to her stood four people; two women and two men and the constellation somewhat reminded Kaguya of her siblings.

Kaze told her to step closer to the woman in front of the throne and Kaguya did as she was told, her eyes still drilling into the woman's who teared up.

"I cannot believe it is really you…" The woman whispered and Kaguya noticed that her voice and scent were familiar but Kaguya couldn't categorize it. She couldn't remember to have ever met this woman.

"I'm sorry, do we know each other?" Her question seemed to slightly shock the woman as she winced, almost running down the steps that divided the two of them.

"Oh, I've missed you so much! Come here, Kaguya, my sweet child!" She reached out her arms to Kaguya who stepped back in perplexion, but the woman still flung her arms around the princess, hugging her tightly as she cried. Kaguya stammered something in confusion, not knowing what was happening.

"Your sweet child?! What are you talking about? That's not possible…" Kaguya tried to get the woman off her, but relented when she noticed that the feeling was vaguely familiar. Something popped up in the back of her head but disappeared almost immediately.

The woman calmed down a few moments later and let go of Kaguya, wiping away the tears.

"Oh, my poor Kaguya. It's a sad story. When you were very young, you were abducted by forces from Nohr. I am your mother, Mikoto. All this time, I didn't know if I'd ever see you again!" Mikoto said with a sad expression, putting her hand to her chest. Kaguya felt her heart race hearing that and breathing quickened. No, she couldn't believe it. It seemed so surreal, her mind started to spin.

"But King Garon is my father! None of what you're saying makes sense!"

"It must be quite a shock, I assume." The man wearing a peculiar armor next to Queen Mikoto spoke, a stern expression on his face. "But I assure you, she speaks the truth. I am your elder brother, Ryoma. And those are your siblings, Hinoka, Takumi and Sakura."

He showed to the side and Kaguya's eyes went with his hand. Hinoka looked like she was about to cry, Sakura seemed to be confused by the situation and Takumi outright glared at her.

"N-no… Xander is my older brother! Leo, Elise and Camilla are my siblings…" Kaguya gasped, her voice cracking.

"Are those the Nohrian royals? They're not your real family. I still remember the day you were taken. In those days, there was tension between Hoshido and Nohr, but no full-blown war. Not until King Garon lured King Sumeragi - our father - to Cheve under false pretenses. He said it was for a peace conference. Ha! His real plan was to murder our father in cold blood. And to make matters even worse… he kidnapped you!" Ryoma spoke looking even angrier. Kaguya could feel her heart sink at his words.

"You really don't remember any of this? Not a single memory?" Hinoka then spoke up, frowning and Kaguya nodded. Sometimes it felt like she could sense something beneath the surface, like a blurry image - but nothing else.

She stood there for a bit in silence when Mikoto said it might be too much for her right now and said she would be brought to a room specially prepared for her, but before she could go away Hinoka stopped her and stared right in her eyes.

"You… finally… after all these years… I… I've missed you so much." She stuttered, losing her composure from before and out her arms around Kaguya, hugging her as she cried which made feel the latter extremely uncomfortable.

"Oh! Um…"

"Hinoka was very attached to you when you were little, Kaguya. When you were taken from us, she cried for months. One day she stopped crying and pick up the naginata. And I will say… if you ever find yourself facing business end of her weapon… you will be filled with major regrets about your life decisions. She vowed to bring you back to us someday… and now here you are." Ryoma explained, standing next to Kaguya who then turned back to look at Hinoka. Though she was supposed to be her older sister, she was smaller than her and Kaguya squinted her eyes, a weird feeling filling her chest.

It has been four days since Kaguya has been brought to Hoshido and she was sitting in her room, staring out of the window.

The rooms in Hoshido were a lot different than the ones in Nohr, with almost no furniture in the room except for a coffee table which functioned as a desk and next to it was a shelf with scrolls. In the back was a room divider behind which a futon was laid out.

Kaguya was certainly not used to this kind of arrangement and she found it difficult to stay occupied with something as she was even more bored and lonely than she was in the Northern Fortress. It might be because she hadn't left the room for the past four days and hadn't spoken to anybody - but Kaguya wanted to be left alone.

Her stomach was rumbling in hunger as she had barely touched her food whenever it was brought to her, Kaguya ignored it and her eyes gazed longingly around the bustling town under the castle which was so full of people it made Kaguya wonder how they manage to walk in the narrow streets.

But alas, she had been able to sort out all her thoughts, realizing that it might haven't been the best idea to stay in her room all the time. If she wanted to find out more about her other family and find out whether they could really trust her, she would need to get to know them more. She was already sure that King Garon was not her real father; during the evening of that day she remembered Aria telling her that " _someone she might not expect was lying to her about her blood relations"_ and immediately realized that she meant King Garon with it.

"But first, I need a bit of fresh air. I have been coped up in this room for far too long." She stretched her body and got up to her feet, stroking over her dress. After the first day, she has taken off her armor (which was now lying next to her bed) and was running around in her black dress, although it had been only a skirt she could strap around her waist since her top was featured in her armor. She prefered these clothes to the one she was presented, she had no idea to put on a kimono and doesn't wanted anyone to help her.

Kaguya left the room and moved towards the main gate; she saw a lake from her window which she wanted to visit as it looked quite nice. Besides, she hadn't seen such a clear water in Nohr before, surrounded by bright green nature as everything in Nohr had been in a dark color.

Once she left the castle, Kaguya could smell that she was accompanied by two ninjas which were hidden out of her sight and sighed. It was obviously that they weren't trusting her and she did not hold it against them - she was doing the same, after all.

Soon, she reached the lake and found a woman standing by a landing stage, she was wearing a white dress and was barefooted, long aqua blue hair flowing down her back and reaching her ankles. She was singing a song which entranced Kaguya and she kept standing on the spot, staring at the woman who seemed to notice her as she turned around with a quizzical expression on her face.

"Can I help you?"

"Er, hello. I'm sorry to bother you. I just got lost in your singing, it was so great. There is something about that song captivated me.."

"You must be Princess Kaguya." The woman interrupted her which made Kaguya wince.

"Yes. And you are?"

"I'm Azura. A former princess of Nohr." The woman answered and Kaguya tilted her head, she has never heard of Azura during her stay at Nohr and no one ever mentioned her name.

"Former? I don't understand. If that were true, surely I would have heard of you. I grew up with the Nohrian royal family, after all."

"I'm afraid I've been here a long time. After you were taken by the Nohrians, the Hoshidan forces retaliated. They tried desperately to get you back, but they failed again and again. However, I wasn't as heavily guarded. Hoshidan ninja easily kidnapped me. I suppose we've both been hostages for most of our lives…" Azura said, her voice was calm and quiet, almost without any emotion.

"Gods, I'm so sorry…" Kaguya said, not knowing what to say.

"No, it's okay. I may technically be a hostage, but I've lived a happy life. The people of Hoshido have accepted me as one of their own. Even Queen Mikoto herself treats me as if I were her daughter." Azura replied, shaking her head to reassure Kaguya.

"Does she…" Kaguya whispered. It made her feel lonely to hear that Azura was having a free life here and was practically free to go everywhere while Kaguya had been imprisoned in a fortress and that Mikoto has seen her as a daughter. She had no mother figure until now and so was envious of that.

"Did something happen between you and Queen Mikoto?" Azura asked, seemingly noticing Kaguya's conflicted feeling and leaned forwards to take a better look at the Nohrian princess's face.

"No. I just don't know what to do. She seems perfectly lovely, but I don't feel any connection to her. Yet, she loves me and so do my blood sibling. However, there I am and have no idea what to feel towards them which makes me feel guilty." Kaguya bit on her bottom lip, chewing on the flesh in frustration.

"I understand. If I were to return to Nohr, I suspect I'd feel the same way."

"Do you think you could start over there? Live a new life among strangers?" Kaguya asked Azura who was staring out at the lake with a melancholy look in her golden eyes.

"No. Given a choice, I would prefer to stay here in Hoshido. Queen Mikoto is a peace-loving ruer. King Garon is not. So… what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know. I…" She was about to say she still needs time to think when her stomach growled again and she blushed in embarrassment.

"Right, I have heard you were refusing your meals. Would you like to go eat with me in the town?" Azura asked and Kaguya nodded. With that, the two girls headed out into the town and Azura showed her some meals only known to Hoshido.

"Um… how do you use them?" Kaguya asked as they were sitting apart from the commotion, holding a pair of chopsticks in her hands. She had been amazed that Azura wasn't recognized as a princess and simply could walk around the town, purchasing whatever she wanted. Kaguya was happy to be able to freely walk around wherever she wanted and since no one knew her, no one stopped to talk to her. She only received a few doubtful glances due to her clothing.

"Here. Between this finger and this finger and you have to make a movement like you are using scissors. Here, look." Azura showed her how to use the Hoshidan eating utensils and though Kaguya had problems at first, she figured out how to do it.

Sitting there, the two of them started talking about several things and so Kaguya used the opportunity to ask a few questions about her siblings which Azura answered as good as she could.

From what she told Kaguya, her oldest brother was living according to the Bushido, a samurai code, and was charismatic and wise as well as being a comforting voice to those in need. Hinoka was more of a serious, determined and unsophisticated person who carried the spirit of a natural warrior. She then proceeds to tell her that Takumi only portrays his constant moody behavior and was a good soul deep down. Sakura was more of a timid and shy person but could display a strong will.

"She also loves my horror stories." Azura chuckled quietly which surprised Kaguya.

"Really? I would have thought she hates them."

"No, but that's fine as I really love to tell them. Do you like such stories?" Azura clasped her hands together and looked at Kaguya who shrugged.

"Depends on the story itself. But I would love to hear some." She replied and Azura nodded, telling her she would come by during an evening when the sky has turned dark for the right atmosphere. That disturbed Kaguya a bit, but she decided to not question her.

"But now tell me about your life in Nohr. I have heard you might have lived a sheltered life over there." Azura asked as she gripped her tea, blowing the steam away and taking a sip. Kaguya then started to tell her about her retainers and her siblings, stopping when she noticed she talked a bit too much about Xander.

"Er… well, I just wanted to say that he is a very great person." She cleared her throat with a faint blush on her cheeks which made Azura giggle quietly.

"You seem really fond of Xander. I myself don't remember him very good as I haven't spent too much time with him."

"Well, I… um… I am truly fond of him, that is the truth. But sometimes I feel more than happy to be around him, he spent quite a lot of time with me as he was the one who visited me the most to make sure I won't feel too lonely and…"

"Are you in love with him?"

"What?" Kaguya looked shocked at Azura, her eyes widen and she felt her face grow bright red and her heart was pounding faster. She did not understand what exactly she meant with that, especially because she had no idea what it meant to be in love.

"Well, you talk so much about Xander, I thought you might harbor feelings for him. By the by, it sounded like you miss him."

"Well, I do. But not only him, I also miss Camilla, Leo, Elise and my retainers. It seemed like yesterday that I was laughing with them and now I don't even know whether I will see them again." Kaguya answered and looked down at the teacup in her hands when she felt a hand on her shoulder, looking around she noticed that Azura was trying to cheer her up.

"Don't worry, you will see them again sooner or later."

"I know… I know…" Kaguya replied and followed Azura who got up on her legs and decided to head deeper into the market, looking over the various goods which made Kaguya feel excited. There were some things she never saw before and was eager to touch everything but Azura told her not to do it.

The two of them returned back to the castle soon after the sun set, chatting about various things when a maid arrived and told Kaguya to go see the queen as she had something to discuss with her. Kaguya said goodbye to Azura and followed the maid to Queen Mikoto who was waiting for her in the throne hall.

"Welcome back, Kaguya. How was your day?"

"It was nice to see more of the colorful side of Hoshido and try some of the meals. Azura was very nice in showing me around."

"Oh so you two already met, that's nice. But actually, I wanted to show you something. Please, follow me."

"Yes." Kaguya nodded and followed the queen to a chamber on the other side of the castle, a spot where Kaguya hadn't even seen before.

"Here are the chambers of the royal family. And now, come in." She slid open a door to a small bedroom and ushered Kaguya inside who looked around. It was more decorated than the room she currently stays in, filled with children's toys and drawing utensils.

"Welcome back, Kaguya! This is your old room." Mikoto giggled and let the princess take a look around. Kaguya was looking through the things but couldn't find anything that made her remember her family in Hoshido. She spotted a drawing and picked it up, it displayed a small child with blue hair, a woman with black hair and a man with a dark brown mane.

"And what's this?"

"Oh, That's a picture you drew when you were a little girl." Mikoto stepped closer and pointed at the figures in the painting. "This is your father, this is me and that's you. It's so cute."

Kaguya sighed and put the picture back down with a heavy feeling in her chest, looking away from Mikoto. She wanted to accept the Hoshidan royal family as her own family but she still couldn't find a connection.

"We couldn't bear to touch a thing in this room after you were taken. If we put your things away, it would have felt like giving up." Mikoto shook her head and then gazed at Kaguya. "I must say, you have grown so much during the past years. I can't believe how beautiful you are!"

Kaguya smirked, feeling flattered at her words but then turned to look back at Mikoto.

"I'm afraid I still don't remember anything. And I simply don't know how to respond to your stories. I do believe I could be your child… but everyone here simply feels like a stranger to me." She gritted her teeth but Mikoto shook her head, putting her hand on Kaguya's shoulder.

"I understand, Kaguya. Please, don't worry about it."

"I'm so sorry. Here you are, maybe my real mother, and I don't feel anything." She responded and let Mikoto thread her fingers through her long azure hair as a soothing motion.

"Please. It makes sense. You spent your whole childhood in Nohr. I'm sure you were quite sheltered. You will need time to think all of this through and search your soul. But I hope that someday we can be a family again. But for now, make yourself as comfortable as possible. You are free to explore the castle, or stroll the grounds outside."

"Thank you." Kaguya said as Mikoto retreated to leave her look around the room in place, but Kaguya felt too uncomfortable here. Instead, she ventured out to search for Azura as she had a feeling she will have a strong bond with her in the future.


	5. Chapter IV

**Chapter IV**

Days passed and Kaguya found herself growing more used to the fact that the Hoshidan royal family was her own, and she started to trust them. They have shown her she doesn't need to be concerned whether they might betray her and so Kaguya started to spend a bit more time with her other siblings. Mikoto was nice to her and Kaguya started to think of her as her mother, accepting her.

Hinoka and Sakura seemed to be very happy that Kaguya decided to open up to them and spent time with her whereas Takumi was not even looking at her whenever she was in the room. On the other hand, Ryoma showed her the way people in Hoshido were fighting and led her to the stables to show her an animal not known in Nohr; pegasi.

It was a weird sight for her to see her older brother in a kimono and hakama, without any of his battle armor. He explained her that they could be seen as something similar to the Wyvern Nohrians use in battle.

Kaguya frowned, it made her remember her other family. back in Nohr. She missed them greatly and wished to see them again. Though she come to truly love her Hoshidan family, she wanted to be with her Nohrian one as well. Shaking her head, she followed Ryoma who kept talking about several things and tried to listen to him when he told her about the Faceless, seemingly undead soldiers created by Nohrian mages.

Following Ryoma's introduction into Hoshidan warfare, Kaguya was called to the throne hall where Mikoto waited for her standing next to the huge throne.

"You look as if you're feeling better now, Kaguya." Her mother greeted her with a gentle smile to which Kaguya nodded.

"I am, yes. I might still have some questions left unanswered, but I have more answers. Thank you for giving me the space I needed to think." Kaguya sighed, she had been in Hoshido for around two weeks and this was more than enough time for her to think about her dilemma and the events of the past few days. She wanted to be with both of her families but she knew that it was an impossible dream - after all, the two kingdoms were at enmity. But there had to be a way to make them reconsider.

"Of course. I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. If you wouldn't mind, I have a small favor to ask. Would you try sitting on the throne for a moment?" Mikoto looked to the side at the huge throne which was far bigger than the one King Garon sits in. Kaguya frowned in confusion.

"Why would I do that?"

"Well… this throne is infused with the power of the First Dragons. It is said that those who sit on it regain their true form and mind. I thought if you sat on the throne, then perhaps…" Mikoto started but was interrupted by Kaguya whose heart clenched. Of course they still weren't trusting her, someone coming from Nohr.

"Do you not trust me? Do you think I'm under some kind of Nohrian spell?"

"No!" Mikoto shouted, looking horrified. "It has nothing to do with trust. I just wonder if the Nohrians have been sealing away your early memories… If so, maybe this special throne could help bring those lost pieces back. Those sweet memories of me and your siblings…" Mikoto's voice trailed off and Kaguya sighed, looking to the side. "I'm sorry, Kaguya. I don't mean to push you toward something you don't want."

Kaguya was about to say she'll do this, she wanted her family to trust her completely but was stopped by a man with glasses entering.

"Excuse me, Lady Mikoto. The ceremony is about to begin."

"Thank you, Yukimura." The Queen of Hoshido then turned to Kaguya who had been staring at the man for a few moments in wonder. "Kaguya, you probably don't remember him, but this is Yukimura. He is one of our strategists and brightest leaders. We would be lost without him!"

"You are too king, milady. Though in truth, I still have much to learn." Yukimura responded with an embarrassed smile. "That said, I am here to help in any way I can, Lady Kaguya."

Kaguya nodded in response, hearing footsteps approaching following by the scent of the royal siblings. She doesn't needed to look around to see that they all approached her and stopped next to her.

"I'd like to make a public announcement about your presence here, Kaguya. There have been rumors circulating about spies from Nohr infiltrating the castle. I would like to quash those rumors once and for all. Yukimura, is everything ready?"

"Yes, milady. People are beginning to gather at the plaza."

"Excellent. Thank you. Kaguya, I've arranged for Takumi, Hinoka and Sakura to give you a tour. I thought you might get to know the area a little bit more before this event. I need to speak to Yukimura first, but I'll meet you at the plaza soon."

At Mikoto's request, Azura also accompanied them and they ventured out into the castle town, mingling among the common folk. It was a little bit difficult to walk trying not to bump into someone and look at everything at the same time.

"Hey, young lady! Would you like to try my world-famous roasted potatoes? They're delicious and nutritious! I guarantee you'll love them!" An old woman called out to Kaguya who turned her attention to her.

"Well… sure! Why not?" She replied and the old woman gave her a big potato on a stick. It was covered in many different spices which made Kaguya wonder how it tastes like. She took a bite out of it and was surprised how great it tasted. "Wow, I've never tasted spices like these before! This is amazing!"

"Told you!" The old woman laughed. "Here, take an extra one on the house. Share it with your friend!"

"Well, thank you very much." Kaguya replied and took the potato the old woman offered her, feeling bad she wouldn't let her pay for it. "Here you go, Azura."

Kaguya turned to Azura who was standing next to her and offered her the food which her friend gracefully took out of her hand.

"Thank you, Kaguya. Oh, you're right! It's delicious." Azura smiled and the two of them returned to Hinoka, Sakura and Takumi who have been walking on ahead. They kept walking and Hinoka and Sakura showed Kaguya many different things she might have never seen before.

"Everyone is really friendly here. And it's so… bright… and open. It's quite a contrast from the fortress I grew up in." Kaguya eventually said and Azura nodded.

"I'm glad you like it. Like I said, I've always been happy here."

"Just don't get too comfortable, _sister_." Takumi growled from behind and Kaguya turned around to him.

"Pardon me?"

"I don't trust you. Shouldn't you be heading back to Nohr soon?" He growled angrily, glaring at Kaguya who felt uncomfortable.

"Takumi." Azura said, her tone reprimanding.

"Hey, who said you could call me by name? You haven't earned that privilege either." Takumi spat at her and Kaguya immediately defended her friend, but Takumi stayed in a grumpy mood.

"I don't care. I don't trust either of you. I just wanted to tell you that to your face." He hissed and walked on ahead, his head raised high. Kaguya and Azura only exchanged looks when the former suddenly felt a tug on her sleeve.

"I apologize for Takumi's rudeness. He's a bit of a hothead. Anyway, would you like to try a sweet rice dumpling? It's a Hoshidan speciality!" Sakura muttered once gaining Kaguya's attention and held out a round dough-like thing out to her.

"Uh… I'd love to. Thanks, Sakura!" Kaguya tried to not think about the confrontation with Takumi just a moment before and bit into the rice dumpling, a sweet paste filling her mouth.

"You're welcome!"

"You know, I'm very close with a girl in Nohr who is around your age." Kaguya then said, it slipped out of her mouth as Sakura reminds her very much of Elise.

"Oh? What is she like?" Sakura asked, looking very interested.

"Well, she's generous and kind. Always putting the need of others first…" Kaguya grew quiet, once more realizing how much she missed her family in Nohr. She wanted to joke around with Elise again, have competitive chess matches with Leo for hours, being cuddled by Camilla with no sign of escape and have long walks with Xander and tuck her arm into his. She was trying to remain hopeful she might see them again although everything seemed like this won't happen too soon.

"All right, everyone." Hinoka then spoke up. "The ceremony is starting. Let's head to the plaza!"

She lead everyone to the plaza which was a huge clearing in front of the castle with a dragon statue in the middle. Hinoka explained to Kaguya that it was the statue of the Dawn Dragon, one of the First Dragons watching over Hoshido.

Mikoto and Yukimura were already standing by the statue, talking to each other and many people were surrounding them. Upon seeing Kaguya, Mikoto reached out her hands and beckoned her over to her.

Though hesitant to stand in front of such a huge crowd, Kaguya walked over to her mother who then turned to the people in the plaza and started talking how Kaguya was kidnapped by Nohrian forces as a child and had been held captive there for the past thirteen years until they grew lucky and managed to retrieve her. Kaguya listened closely to her mother and the people who were all staring at her were either having compassionate expressions or doubtful looks on their faces.

Mikoto kept talking when Kaguya suddenly felt something move on her hip and took a quick glance when Ganglari suddenly flew out of the belt holding it right into a hooded person's hand. He turned it around and crashed the blade into the ground, scattering it into dozens of shards surrounded by a purple hue.

The shards all flew in different directions, some slashing through the bodies of the people in the plaza, but the most were flying towards Kaguya. Reacting quickly, Kaguya stepped back and raised her hand to cast a magic shield around her when she saw her mother throwing herself between Kaguya and the shards, being hit in the back.

"Wha…" Kaguya gasped as Mikoto screamed and crumbled into Kaguya's arms. Unable to stay upright out of shock, Kaguya crouched down on the ground with her mother in her arms.

"You are not hurt, are you?" Mikoto gasped, her face distorted in pain looking into Kaguya's eyes. "Tell me you're okay…"

"I'm fine." Kaguya muttered, her voice cracking. She couldn't believe what was happening and her mind raced, something was roaring in the back of her mind.

"I'm so glad…" Mikoto smiled one last time and then her body grew limp, her head resting against Kaguya's chest who was shaking her slightly.

"M-Mother?" She sobbed, the roaring growing louder. "MOTHER!"

She couldn't hear or see anything anymore, her body started to tremble violently as her mother slid out of her arms onto the ground. The trembling grew stronger and the roaring was filling her head and ears, sounding like something abdominal. Unable to suppress her urges anymore, Kaguya started to roar as well and her vision grew blurry, with her unable to make anything out anymore than the rage and roaring within her.

" _Stop!"_ A voice suddenly shouted, louder than any of the other noises in Kaguya's head. " _Don't give in, control your emotions. Don't let the dragon take over or it will ruin you!"_

The voice caused something in Kaguya's head and she could hear a song being sung which calmed her down, she found her head growing clearer and she was kneeling on the ground, grasping her head as memories flooded back into her mind.

"I finally remember! I remember…" She groaned. She remembered Sumeragi taking her along to meet King Garon in Cheve, but as they arrived the king of Nohr stood there, archers behind him. Sumeragi reacted fast and jumped in front of Kaguya at the same time King Garon ordered his men to shoot.

Sumeragi caught all of the arrows coming at Kaguya and fell to the ground, only to be finished by King Garon's axe. With Sumeragi gone, King Garon approached Kaguya and took her with him.

"My real father…" Kaguya muttered and shuddered as she remembered the sound King Garon's axe made when he killed the King of Hoshido.

"Are you all right, Kaguya?" She heard Azura saying and looked up to see Azura on the ground in front of her with a slash across her cheek, Ryoma and Sakura were surrounding them. Realizing it had been her that hurt her friend, she screwed her nose.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just disgusted myself. Are you okay, though? I can't believe what I did to you… I had no control over myself."

"Please, don't worry about it. That wasn't you, but the blood of the ancient dragon that runs in your veins." Azura explained and Kaguya remembered that she has an aunt who is actually a dragon - but that should mean Aria was Sumeragi's sister which seemed unlikely.

"Yes, the power runs through all our veins, but your is special, Kaguya. You can actually take the form of a dragon." Ryoma said, frowning.

"I've heard of such a thing. But this is my first time seeing it in real life." Azura said, but Kaguya shook her head and looked up to see the plaza entirely destroyed, even the Dawn Dragon statue was cut in half.

"What happened to all the innocent people in town? I can't believe this… the entire town… devastated. An hour ago these streets were filled with vendors and children and…"

"So you see, Kaguya. This is the work of the Nohrians. This is what they do. Let me guess, the sword you carried… was if a gift from King Garon?" Ryoma spoke, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes…"

"He masterminded the whole thing. It's not your fault. He knew you'll be captured and brought before the queen…"

"But why? Why would he do this? I'm so sorry I couldn't see it coming…" Kaguya muttered, distraught when Takumi suddenly rushed towards them.

"Your apology means _nothing_! This is all your fault! Mother is dead, along with countless others. And it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't show up on our doorstep! You don't belong here!"

"Enough, Takumi!" Ryoma roared which made the young prince wince back.

"Your words don't change anything. And besides…" Azura got up on her feet, but Takumi cut her off.

"Shut up, Azura! You're no different than her! An interloper!" He then turned back to Kaguya who stood there and felt worse with each word he was saying. "I don't want to see you again. Are we really to believe you had no idea this would happen?"

"Takumi, what are you saying? Knock it off! You just saw Kaguya help us defeat those Nohrian soldiers!" Hinoka shouted in an offended tone.

"Takumi, please. You must listen. Kaguya is your sister. If you don't trust me, that's one thing. But she's your own blood!" Azura argued but Takumi turned around, shaking his head.

"Mother is dead. Thanks to her. She's not my sister."

Having heard her siblings argue, it seemed like their bonds were about to be destroyed because of her. She felt disgusted and desperate by everything that has happened. No, Takumi was right. She could have thrown Ganglari away when her intuition said it was a devious sword and when it threw her off the bridge into the Bottomless Canyon. She clenched her hands to fists.

"I'm so sorry, everyone. I've brought nothing but pain to you. It would be better if I'd never some here - maybe I should just leave." She said, wondering where she should go She couldn't go to Nohr, not now knowing that King Garon has arranged everything. Maybe she could go and search for Aria, staying with her mother figure.

She was about to turn and walk off, when Yukimura stepped into her way, a serious look on his face.

"Please wait. I don't believe that's what Queen Mikoto would have wanted."

"What do you know about it, Yukimura?" Takumi hissed but Ryoma held him back, frowning.

"What do you mean? Did she say something to you?"

"I hate to deliver these news, but… Queen Mikoto foresaw her own death. This isn't your fault, Lady Kaguya. King Garon set these events in motion. And the queen speculated that there may be an even darker force at work. She didn't know when or how death would strike, only that it was certain. And there's one other thing. Please look at that statue." Yukimura pointed to the destroyed statue of the Dawn Dragon, a sword was stuck in the middle.

"Is that… a sword?" Kaguya muttered, squinting her eyes to get a better look at it.

"It can't be…" Ryoma gasped, his eyes widen in surprise.

"It is. The divine sword Yato. Much like your weapon, Ryoma; the divine Rajinto. And your Fujin Yumi, Takumi. Yato may be wielded by only a singular warrior. One who is chosen by the blade itself. It is said that the Yato was forged to be the key to peace in our world." Yukimura explained and Kaguya frowned, wondering if it was right. She herself was not against peace but wondered if it was true that one sword could be the right help for that.

Suddenly, the Yato started to shake violently and flew up only to change the direction towards Kaguya who held out her hand. The Yato flew directly into her hand and Kaguya stared at it in awe.

"The blade has chosen Kaguya!" Ryoma exclaimed in surprise.

"Kaguya, do you know what this means?" Hinoka asked, but Kaguya did not respond and stared at the blade in her hand.

"Kaguya? Are you listening? Can you h-hear us?" Sakura asked, sounding worried but was stopped by Kaze who came running up to them.

"Lord Ryoma! I have important news! A massive Nohrian force is gathering at our border."

"This is the final straw. I have worked hard to avoid an all-out war, but now…" Ryoma sighed. "Death is too good for them. Who's with me?"

The royal siblings then left together with the Hoshidan forces, but Kaguya and Azura stayed behind.

The Nohrian forces were invading Hoshido and as Kaguya thought more about it, she realized she would have to fight them. And as her Nohrians siblings were there as well, it means she has to fight them.

"There must be another way. Surely the answer is not more bloodshed. But I feel I must follow Ryoma to the border. If I can help avert total war…"

"Wait, Kaguya!" Azura shouted in the moment Kaguya was to run after her siblings. "There's something you need to know. If you become embroiled in a fight right now, it would be easy to lost control. Your dragon blood could take over again. And if you yield completely to the dragon, you may lose your humanity altogether."

"I have heard something similar when I was in my dragon form. Is there I can do?"

"Yes. Look here, this is a Dragonstone." Azura took a peculiar-looking stone out of a pocket and presented it to Kaguya. The Dragonstone had an interesting shape and was glowing. "It will allow you to control the dragon's power and still return to your human form. Now please, close your eyes."

Kaguya did close her eyes as Azura asked her to and felt a fuzzy warmth in her which spread through her entire body.

"There." Azura said and Kaguya opened her eyes again. "You should be okay now, this Dragonstone is now attuned to you. Be sure to keep it safe."

Azura placed the Dragonstone in Kaguya's hand who stowed it away in a pocket of her armor.

"Thank you, Azura. I don't know what I'd do without you." Kaguya chuckled and noticed Azura looking slightly flustered. "I'm sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable? I know we've known each other only a short while, but I feel close to you. You already risked your life to help calm my dragon form. I only hope I can repay the favor someday."

"Thank you, Kaguya. I feel close to you as well. I feel… safe when I'm with you. I wish to keep you safe too. That's why I'm coming with you to face Nohr."

The two women nodded at each other and rushed towards the border, though Kaguya felt anxious to fight her family.


	6. Chapter V

**Chapter V**

Although Kaguya and Azura were far behind the others, they managed to catch up to Hinoka, Sakura and Takumi. The closer they got to the battlefield, the more it made Kaguya feel uncomfortable.

Those were the forces of her siblings she had to go against and she noticed her hands trembling as she tried to calm herself and steel her nerves. Even when she had to fight against her Nohrian siblings, she needed to stay headfast.

"Are you all right, Kaguya?" Azura asked, sounding worried and Kaguya nodded in return, her fingers cramped around the hilt of Yato.

She was still confused over what has happened and her heart pained at the thought of her mother dying in her arms without giving Kaguya the chance to acknowledge her as her mother, it made her feel guilty.

The field they arrived on was a vast one, divided into two by a river with destroyed bridges.

Several Nohrian soldiers noticed her and came running up to her with made Kaguya tense but she quickly drew her sword and fought them, blades clashing.

She soon noticed how close she was standing to Ryoma who was battling someone else and the breath caught in her throat realizing who it was.

Xander was there, atop his horse and Siegfried in his hand.

He had a very severe expression but once his eyes caught Kaguya's joy flashed over his face and it looked like he was smiling.

"Kaguya, you're alive!"

"Xander…" She muttered in disbelief. She couldn't understand why he was attacking Hoshido - now of all the times! Her chest started to ache even more seeing the distance they were apart and Xander made a gesture which looked like he wanted to pull her towards him which made her heart quiver. Kaguya's body reacted on its own as she made a step forward and reached out her hand towards Xander, but Ryoma held out his arm in front of her in a protective manner thus stopping her.

"Be careful, Kaguya. That man is a Nohrian commander!" He shouted and pulled her behind him. As he did she could see Xander's face distorting in rage, his eyes seemingly glowing in anger and it looked like he tried to ready Siegfried to strike down Ryoma.

"Kaguya, Father says it's time to show our true strength! Join us and we will end this quickly. If we conquer Hoshido here and now, we can avoid unnecessary bloodshed." Xander shouted, gripping his sword tighter as she peeked over Ryoma's arm to him. He looked quite miserable and Kaguya found herself wanting to run over and hug him just like she had done when they were little, but something was holding her back.

Why did they had to fight? There has to be a different way to solve the conflict.

As she kept thinking what she should do, Kaguya spotted Camilla, Leo and Elise from afar and her heart sunk even more. She couldn't fight against them, she just couldn't. Her Nohrian siblings also tried to get Kaguya to come over to them while the Hoshidian ones were arguing that she was staying with them and it made Kaguya feel even more conflicted.

She couldn't decide for one side and betray the other. She has to find another way…

Her siblings looked at her in anticipation, her eldest brothers reaching out their hands for her and Kaguya stopped breathing, it felt like she was suffocating.

"I… I…." She stuttered, holding her breath. Something inside of her screamed, saying that she shouldn't choose a side. And Kaguya got the same feeling. She has to search for another way. "I can not choose a side and betray the other, I won't do it! I… I choose my own path!"

Kaguya bellowed and before anyone could say that she retreated, running off the battlefield. She was sure she had disappointed everyone - disappointed Xander - but she had to search for a different solution. Something bigger was happening there and she wanted to find out.

Reaching a nearby forest she felt goosebumps forming all over her body as she heard the battle raging on which made her feel sick, she doesn't wanted to betray her siblings so her only way was to run away - how cowardly.

"Ngh…" Kaguya fell to her knees, she had been unable to look into her siblings' eyes as she ran away and she felt like a true coward for running away and not talking to her but her body has moved on its own.

"There you are." A soft voice reached her and Kaguya winced, looking around to see Azura approaching her.

"Azura…" She muttered when she heard running and suddenly Jakob emerged from between some bushes, his expression softening upon seeing her.

"Ah, I'm so glad you're safe!" He beamed and jumped on his feet, moving towards her to help her up on her feet. "I'm here to help you, milady Kaguya."

"Jakob?! What are you doing here?" She asked in surprise while Jakob put his hand on his chest and shook his head.

"I've been trying to find you ever since we got separated. It took a while, but now that I'm here, I'll support you. Even though I'm unclear which armies we're up against…"

"The short version is… we seem to be against the Hoshidan and Nohrian armies. I have not chosen to side with either one." Kaguya answered and it looked like something has struck Jakob as his eyes grew bigger looking at her.

"Yes, we managed to escape, but I'm sure they're still on our trail." Azura then spoke up and Kaguya looked surprised at her.

"We?"

"Yes, because I chose to side with you, Kaguya. You have shown me kindness in the past few days like no one else. But… we can't leave things as they are now - we will be branded as traitors by both kingdoms." Azura replied with a concerned expression but Kaguya kept quiet and looked to the ground, her mind was reeling as she was thinking. "Listen to me, you'll lose everything if you don't choose a side. It's either Hoshido or Nohr."

"No. There's another option. A third one! I can choose not to support either side." Kaguya shook her head.

"But… how?"

"I have family in Hoshido. I also have family in Nohr. Even if I were to lose everything… Even if all of them… despise… me and think of me as a coward…. I can't choose to side with one against the other. I simply can't do that. I don't care if I lose everything. This is what I've decided." Kaguya replied and looked deeply into Azura's eyes, her resolve not wavering. Azura gasped with a shocked expression but then smiled and nodded.

"I see… You have to be willing to risk a lot to accomplish something major… I suppose you're right. My own mother lost her life protecting Nohr. But I don't think she regretted her choice. She died to protect the ones she loved. I've made up my mind as well… I will follow you, no matter what."

"Thank you, Azura." Kaguya replied with a smile and gripped her hands, squeezing them softly. "Oh, and might you know what happened after I have rushed off the battlefield?"

"Yes, Prince Xander has accused Ryoma of corrupting you and they started to fight, but in the middle the Nohrian forces retreated."

"I see... " Kaguya muttered and looked down. It hurt her to know that they all had been expecting so much of her and were simply disappointed but she vowed to make everything right so that everyone could live in peace.

Suddenly, she saw something moving from the corner of her eyes and noticed it to be Lilith who flew down next to her.

"Lilith, great timing!"

"Lilith?" Jakob suddenly intervened after hearing a familiar name. "Milady, do you mean to say this creature is our stable girl? It can't be…"

"Actually, it can. And it is." Kaguya replied as Jakob walked closer and began inspecting Lilith who only smiled.

"Sorry, milady, but I fail to grasp the joke. Lilith is a human, not a… fantastical beast."

"Look, I know it is confusion, but I'll explain everything later. Come, I want to show you something before we catch up with the others." Kaguya answered and a light started to surround them which seemed to surprise Jakob as he looked around in surprise. A moment passed and they stood in front of the castle in the Astral Plane and Kaguya told Jakob and Azura about this peculiar place.

"...I see. So, to be clear, we are in something called an astral plane. Fascinating, truly fascinating." Jakob answered and walked off to look around the place.

"Lady Kaguya…" Lilith spoke up and Kaguya turned back to the small dragon. "I know the choice you just made was a difficult one. From here on out, you and your allies will continue down your chosen path. I promise to do everything in my power to help you on your journey. As such, please feel free to use this astral plane to rest or prepare for battle."

"Thank you, Lilith. Your kindness and support are very much appreciated." Kaguya giggled quietly and stroked Lilith's head who made a content expression.

"Aww, you're very welcome. Now, you should look around the commodities within the castle walls and get to know every little detail."

"You are right, maybe I should do that." Kaguya answered and walked through the field to see what kind of buildings stood within the castle wall. There was Lilith's Temple, several shops, a Hot Spring, a Main Hall with a kitchen, an Arena and a Prison.

She wondered what the purpose of some of them were and realized after a while how tired she was, after all she had a long day behind herself and once forcibly transfigured into a dragon. She invited Azura to have a dip in the Hot Springs with her and they ate dinner together with Jakob who prepared it for them before she went back to the room she had used before she was taken to Hoshido.

She fell on the bed, hugging the pillow as she thought about the events that had happened today. She has lost her mother and the trust of her siblings, but she knew she was walking down the right path.

Her mind drifted to Xander and she bit on her lower lip to not think how he must have felt when she had ran away instead of choosing one side. He must have been so disappointed.

Her heart clenched at the thought and she felt a wave of desperation wash over her, she doesn't wanted Xander to hate her. She would never be able to get over it if this was the case.

Kaguya shook her head, trying her best to not think about it when she heard a faint knock on her door.

"Yes, come in." She said and sat up, throwing the pillow aside. It was Azura who peeked inside with her brows raised.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No, I have been still awake. Come in." Kaguya answered and Azura nodded, quietly closing the door behind herself before sitting down next to Kaguya. "Is something bothering you, Azura?"

"Not really, I just have some doubts regarding our whole situation. I am sure we are going to be fought as enemies by both kingdoms once we start walking down our path. And I just wanted to ask you again if you are a hundred percent sure that you want to do it." Azura said and raised her brows, looking uncertain and Kaguya nodded.

"I might have been not certain in the beginning, but I want to follow the path I'm on. I want the two kingdoms to be in peace and be with both my families. I will do everything to make that happen." Kaguya replied and Azura looked surprised at her and then nodded. "Besides, I have a feeling that there was something bigger behind everything. Well, I was indirectly told that before but I have never known what she meant with it until now."

"Who told you?"

"Uhm… since I was little, I had to stay in the Northern Fortress and I was often visited by a friend who has taught me many things." Kaguya replied and remembered Aria who hadn't visited her for quite some time and she found herself wishing she would be here.

"What kind of friend was she?"

"Well, her name is Aria and she is a very powerful mage as she was able to freeze the time around the fortress every time she came to visit. And in all those years she never changed and kept looking the same…" Kaguya muttered with a melancholic smile pulling her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "But when I told someone of her they assumed she was just an imaginary friend I made up, no matter how hard I tried to convince them."

"I see… but it does sound nice." Azura smiled and then looked over to the Yato leaning against a chair. "It seems like we have quite the journey ahead of us."

"Yes, but I'm looking forward to travel by your side." Kaguya giggled and Azura looked astonished at her at first, but then laughed and added that she was looking forward to travel with Kaguya as well.

"Oh, by the by, you are a songstress, right? Can you sing me some songs?" Kaguya asked, leaning forwards and Azura nodded, starting to sing many different songs which started to soothe Kaguya's nerves.

The two of them kept talking to each other, finally falling asleep next to each other in Kaguya's bed.

The next morning the two young women woke up to Jakob standing next to the bed with a faint smile, holding a tray with two servings of breakfast for the two. He told Kaguya that he had assumed the two would be sleeping together in the night when she inquired how he knew Azura was with her.

"Have you two considered what our next move will be? Nohr and Hoshido against us; we don't have many friends right now." Jakob mentioned during pouring tea for the two ladies and Kaguya cocked her her, thinking while munching on a piece of bread.

"It seems like we should lay low for a little bit."

"Then… I know a place where no one will find us. We should be safe there." Azura answered with a slightly pained smile.

"Really?"

"Yes. And once we get there, I have much to tell you. Things I heard from my mother… and the truth about this world…" Azura answered and Kaguya nodded in response, she was wondering what Azura wanted to tell her but secretly looked forwards to it.

They quickly finished their meal and got ready to head out, telling Lilith good-bye as they passed the portal.

Azura then lead Kaguya to a place she did knew; the Bottomless Canyon. Furrowing her brows, she looked over to Azura who stopped on the bridge and grabbed the railing.

"This is the Bottomless Canyon where we lost Gunter. You don't mean for us to hide out there, do you?" Kaguya asked Azura with a doubtful expression but she nodded.

"That's exactly what I mean. We'll jump into the canyon." Azura replied and started to climb over the railing while Kaguya hurried to her side, thinking she might fall.

"Just wait a minute!" Jakob shouted suddenly. "If we jump from here, we'll all one will ever find us, that's for sure - but we'll be ghosts!"

"Don't worry. You won't die if you jump. You have to trust me." Azura answered and looked at Kaguya with a hopeful expression who took a peek over the railing of the bridge.

"Azura… you'll tell us more of what you know after we jump into the canyon, right?"

"Yes, if that's what you wish."

"Then we have no choice." Kaguya replied and climbed over the railing, standing next to Azura and looking down. She it gave her a queasy feeling to look down but she steeled herself to not get scared of jumping down.

"Are you certain about this, milady?" Jakob asked as he went closer to her and Kaguya nodded.

"Yes, everything will be fine. I trust Azura."

"Thank you, Kaguya. Well then, I will go first and wait for you to follow." Azura answered and then threw herself from the rope bridge. Kaguya saw her plunging into the darkness and took a deep breath before imitating her.

She could see Azura looking around to her and nodding before the two of them were swallowed by darkness.

"Kaguya…" A voice was calling out to her in the darkness, a voice she knew very well but couldn't remember clearly whose it was. "Kaguya, the place you just entered is very dangerous. You better keep your guard up and leave as soon as possible. You are not safe there."

Kaguya wanted to speak up to the voice, but she couldn't and wondered who it might be as she slowly opened her eyes. She could feel herself lying on the ground with grass tickling her nose. Slowly, she rose and looked around. She was lying in a field which continued to a sideways land formation. Above her were some floating islands, some inverted and others sideways as well as broken skies. All of the islands had remains of buildings and grassy fields and Kaguya had a feeling she had been here before, but couldn't remember.

"Is… this the bottom of the canyon? That was a heck of a jump, but nothing seems to be broken." She muttered after checking her whole body for any injures.

"Thank goodness." Kaguya heard Azura saying who was standing next to her and extended one arm to her to help Kaguya back on her feet. "I said you'd be all right, didn't I?"

Kaguya nodded, feeling a bit lightheaded and looked around to see whether Jakob was also there only to find him standing a bit away from them, beating the dust and grime off his clothes.

"Jakob, how do you feel?"

"I'm fine, of course. I'm relieved to see Lady Kaguya is unhurt as well." He answered and straightened his clothes before approaching them.

"So… where are we? This place looks like it's definitely seen better days." Kaguya muttered and looked over to Azura who sighed heavily.

"...This is the kingdom of Valla. It's responsible for the war between Hoshido and Nohr."

"Responsible? How?"

"Follow me, both of you. If we linger here, we'll be spotted." Azura said and looked around before heading to a mountainous site where they entered a dark cave. Unable to see anything, Kaguya created a small light ball in her hands which illuminated their faces.

"We should be safe here." Azura took a deep breath, apparently mentally preparing herself. "As I was saying… the throne of Valla is occupied by King Anankos. Before his arrival, this land was a peaceful one. All was well until Anankos killed our king and took the throne for himself. Once bountiful farmlands were devastated, replaced by wastelands and graveyards."

"He destroyed an entire kingdom?! For no reason at all?" Kaguya asked but then started to notice that there was a certain similarity to a story Aria has told her some years ago.

"Yes, and he isn't finished. He wishes to lay waste on the entire world. First Valla, then Nohr and Hoshido. Even now, he's the hidden influence that quietly forces Nohr and Hoshido to fight. King Garon's invasion is the result of Anankos subtle manipulations."

"That's horrible! But… if it's true, then maybe we can stop this war by defeating Anankos! We need to get back above and explain this to everyone! If we can get Nohr and Hoshido to work together with…"

"I'm sorry but you can't." Azura quickly intervened. "You mustn't talk about Valla to anyone when you're beyond it's borders. If you do, you'll trigger a curse that will cause your body to dissolve and disappear. That's what happened to my mother… to Arete, the former queen of Valla."

"Your mother was a queen in Valla, not Nohr? Then that makes you…"

"Yes, I am a Vallite princess. The king that Anankos murdered was my father. I was forced to flee and wasn't able to tell anyone about this before. Because of that curse… Even if I wanted to talk, I couldn't. I was trapped - no matter how much I missed my parents. I had to keep it all bottled up inside… until now." Azura showed Kaguya a sad smile and it pained her to see her friend in such a state so she approached the princess and put her arms around her in a comforting hug. She could feel Azura wincing but she then put her arms around Kaguya as well and hugged her back, sobbing quietly.

"Don't worry, you don't need to keep everything to yourself anyone. I'm here to share everything with you - no matter what it is, you can come to me and talk about it."

"Yes, thank you…" Azura whimpered and stepped back, wiping the tears out of her face with the back of her hand. "But listen, Kaguya. I'm sorry to say this, but… Now that you've chosen this path, you'll know exactly what I've been feeling. No matter how much you want someone to understand what's happening… No matter how much you want to tell them the truth… you won't be able to tell them. You need to prepare yourself for that. I can't even express how painful it is to know the truth and not be able to say it."

"All right, I understand." Kaguya said and nodded, but then remembered the voice in her head telling her to leave Valla as soon as possible due to danger when she was unconscious but at the same time enemies appeared and Azura hissed, telling her to tread carefully as the enemies could be in the shadows waiting for them.

They kept fighting and upon reaching the end of the cave Gunter miraculously joined them and fought with them so that they could escape the maze-like structure of the cave.

Stepping outside they suddenly stood in front of three nearly invisible beings with a purple hue and Kaguya raised her sword in defense.

"Leave now… You should not be here." The front being said with a female voice and Kaguya winced.

"Who are you?!"

"I am a mage of Valla… You were warned. Vallite warriors, eliminate them." The female voice told the other invisible beings around her to attack them and Kaguya groaned, telling the others to run as they were not strong enough to fight against all of them.

Azura lead them through a portal and soon the group found themselves back in the Bottomless Canyon and Kaguya fell to the ground sighing in relief.

"It looks like we've made it back. But who was that woman down there? She said she was a mage…"

"When dawn turns to dusk. When dusk turns to dawn. Then the door will spawn." Azura suddenly said and Kaguya shot her a confused glance as she went back on her feet.

"Is that a poem, Azura?"

"My mother… she said those words to me long time ago. She said that when dawn turns to dusk, and dusk turns to dawn… the pass in the Bottomless Canyon opens or closes."

"When the dawn turns…" Gunter repeated the words with a frown. "Oh, I get it. Once every few decades, the skies above Nohr and Hoshido will reverse. However, if I remember it right, we have to wait a long time until then."

"Yes, I'm sure that's the sign that the pass down there has opened or closed. Since we're obviously able to travel there now, it will be closed next time. Once it closes, it will stay that way for decades. We won't be able to get there… Even if it will happen in many, many months due, we don't have much time."

"I see. The, we'll need both kingdoms to stop fighting each other and help us. If we had Xander and Ryoma, there's no way we'd lose." Kaguya muttered and rubbed her chin lost in thoughts.

"But how can we convince them? We can't tell the truth!" Azura quickly reminded her.

"We'll just have to find another way. It's the only chance we have. Now that I know there is a common enemy for both countries to fight… I think we can save Nohr and Hoshido. All I can do is believe in myself and try to convince others to join us." Kaguya answered and pumped her fist in determination.

"Kaguya… I suppose you're right. I felt so powerless on my own, but together we might be able to pull something off! Nothing will change if we stay here. Let's return to Hoshido first, I feel like they might be more willing to listen to us."

And with that, they headed out towards Fort Jinya.


	7. Chapter VI

**Chapter VI**

Heading towards the fortress, Kaguya was once again reminded to not speak of Valla and even though the soldiers might attack her, she planned on speaking from the heart and hoped that everyone will understand.

The fortress seemed almost abandoned from the outside but once Kaguya stepped inside she could see Hoshido's tactician Yukimura standing on the other side of the fortress and he looked clearly displeased to see her here. Kaguya tried to tell him that she did not betray Hoshido when he accused her of being a traitor but he did not listen, no matter how hard she tried and so had no other choice than to fight him.

Though the Hoshidans were fighting as much as they could, Kaguya managed to defeat them and stood in front of Yukimura who was rubbing his arm which he seemed to have sprained.

"I don't understand… we're defeated… why don't you kill us?" Yukimura gasped, frowning.

"Because we don't need this senseless violence. I know how to end it! However, I will need your help in this." Kaguya answered and put the Yato back into the hilt, but even so the three of them refused to listen and Saizo started to become engulfed in flames which startled Kaguya and she stepped back.

"Get back! He intends to sacrifice himself in attacking us!" Gunter shouted and Kaguya felt her heart sink. She doesn't wanted anyone to die!

"Saizo, stop!"

"I believe in Hoshido… Even if I must give my life, I will stop you!" He shouted and started to glow red in the flames.

However, he did not come to blow up as suddenly a scream echoed through the hall.

"No, Brother! You're wrong!"

Kaguya had no time to wait for anything happening as suddenly two figures stopped right in front of her, seemingly protecting her.

"Stop, please! Saizo, d-don't hurt my sister!"

Kaze and Sakura had appeared out of nowhere and stepped right in front of Kaguya who shot them surprised glances.

"Kaze! Sakura!"

"Why are you interfering? These people deserve their fate. They've turned against Hoshido!" Saizo bellowed angrily but Kaze stopped him once again.

"Brother, you mustn't be so rash! Lady Kaguya is trustworthy! When I was a prisoner in Nohr, it was Kaguya who let me escape! She saved me - an enemy - without worrying about what would happen for doing so!"

"Kaguya is… a very kind person! Look! Even d-during this battle, she didn't kill a single defender! Why would she do that if she had truly betrayed Hoshido?! There must be a reason, please just listen to her!" Sakura argued and put her hand to her chest. Saizo looked at the two of them and let out a growl before the flames subsided.

Having heard Kaze and Sakura, Yukimura gave Kaguya a chance to speak and she tried to tell them about the skies above the Bottomless Canyon but it seemed like they did not believe her but at least they let her and her group go.

Frustrated by the situation Kaguya bit on her bottom lip as she was about to retreat, but a smaller hand suddenly grabbed her sleeve and gently tugged on it.

"Wait, Sister! Please!"

"Sakura?" Kaguya looked at her younger sister in surprise who blushed as she looked at her.

"Um… please… t-take me with you! I'm not very good at fighting, but I'm sure I can find a way to help!"

"Lady Sakura, what are you…?!" Yukimura shouted irritated, his eyes growing bigger.

"I'm sorry, Yukimura, but I believe that Kaguya is telling the truth. We haven't spent much time together, but I can tell… I can tell by the look in her eyes… She isn't trying to trick us." Sakura answered and now started to grip Kaguya's arm - almost like she tried to underline her statement.

"Lady Sakura… I didn't expect this. I don't know what to say right now… I've been by your side since you were born. I can tell that your mind is made up. I won't try to stop you. Just… promise me that you'll be careful." Yukimura sighed with a resignated expression and Sakura nodded with a satisfied smile, squeezing Kaguya's arm.

"Brother." Kaze then spoke up, turning to Saizo who only shot him one of his glares. "I would ask for your understanding. I would like to accompany Lady Kaguya on her mission."

"If you are set on that course, you may do as you wish."

"I am." Kaze replied in a determined voice, both of them believed Kaguya without her actually telling the truth and she couldn't say how happy she was about it. Her heart squeezed and she put her hand on Sakura's.

"Thank you, Sakura, Kaze. Thank you for believing in me. Let's head to our next destination." Kaguya muttered and then they left the fort, reassembling further away.

Needing to think for some time Kaguya was about to leave the group but Sakura came running up to her.

"Big Sister!"

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Kaguya asked as Sakura fidgeted around, apparently trying to collect her thoughts.

"Um… can I go with you? Or would you rather stay alone?"

"No, you are free to come with me." Kaguya answered with a smile and beckoned Sakura over to the lake she wanted to head over. Sakura quietly followed her and Kaguya stopped once she noticed that it was familiar.

"This lake…" She muttered, looking at the surface.

"Is something the matter?" Sakura asked, sounding worried but Kaguya only shook her head.

"This lake is where I first met Azura. So much happened in the short time since then…" She mumbled in response and put her hand on her hips, looking nonchalantly to the side.

"Kaguya…" Sakura whispered as she stepped next to her, looking at her big sister's face who was lost deep in thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. There's so much I want to tell you, but I can't. Not here…"

"It's all right, Kaguya. I b-believe in you. I can tell that you're carrying a very heavy burden. If I can do the smallest things to h-help you, then I…" She looked from one side to another and Kaguya turned to her to look at her, smiling at Sakura's shy blush. "Uh… thank you for letting me join you. I, uh, missed you." Sakura bowed. "I hope I can help."

Flustered, Sakura looked down at the ground while her face grew bright red before looking back up and smiling at Kaguya, the latter found it extremely adorable and had to hold herself back from squeezing Sakura in her arms so she only reached out her hand and patted Sakura's head.

As the two of them were standing there, Kaguya suddenly heard something coming towards them only to look up and see a pegasus moving straight towards them which shocked her, but it turned out to be Sakura's retainers Subaki and Hana. As they were Sakura's retainers they insisted on coming along and so Kaguya gained more allies which made her feel warm in her chest.

"We should go and rejoin the others. As we have still some hours left it would be best if we advance with our plans." Kaguya eventually said after Sakura told her retainers why she decided to join her sister so that they regrouped and Azura told Kaguya it would be best to head to Izumo since it will be a chance to avoid conflict and so they decided to head there though Azura suggested heading there by taking the Eternal Stairway which made Kaguya feel uneasy but she decided to go along either way.

"Uhm… Azura?" Kaguya muttered as she stood at the foot of the stairway and looked up with wide eyes.

"Yes?"

"Are you sure this is the shortcut? It doesn't seem like one."

"But this is the quickest way to our destination." Azura said and had an expression on her face that said that Kaguya was talking nonsense and the latter sighed, getting mentally ready for heading up the stairs.

"A-All right, let's do it!" She shouted and started to climb the first few steps more enthusiastically but after she managed to climb halfway up her excitement grew less and at the end she was in no mood to go further but pushed herself nonetheless.

"Azura, you were saying we're heading to Izumo, right?"

"Yes. It's our best chance of avoiding conflict with Hoshidan forces. Izumo has declared neutrality and won't allow fighting of any kind on their land."

"Hey…" Sakura suddenly said and looked around. "Is it just me or is the fog g-getting thicker?"

Kaguya and Azura stopped and looked at each other for a moment before scanning the area around them and Kaguya noticed that Sakura was right, the fog was getting thicker around them and it grew harder to see anything. Suddenly, a white light flashed and a Faceless appeared in front of them making Sakura scream.

The group fought the Faceless, but once they fell defeated to the ground they changed into normal humans and to their horror, members of the Wind Tribe. They pondered what to do about the situation and Kaguya decided to head to the Wind Tribe village and explain everything to the chieftain, but it seemed like that was no easy feat. They did not want to listen to a traitor and Kaguya got only a change because Rinkah stepped in and vouched for her. Fuga told Kaguya that he is willing to listen to her if she managed to defeat him so she took on the challenge and managed to defeat the chieftain with quite some difficulties.

"Will you listen to us now? I am truly sorry that we attacked people from your tribe. We were deceived, and we came here to offer our apologies and an explanation." Kaguya told Fuga who was sitting on the ground and got his wounds taken care of, just like Sakura was healing her allies behind her.

"I understand, Kaguya. I could sense no ill intent in you as we fought. You have a pure heart and a warrior's spirit. I promise to explain the situation to the rest of my tribe - you should not worry." Fuga said with crooked smile and Kaguya sighed in relief. "Ah, you remind me of Sumeragi. He would rejoice at seeing you now. You would definitely make him proud."

"Excuse me, you knew my father?"

"Oh yes. King Sumeragi was a dear friend. We often fought side by side in our younger days. We were brothers in battle. Those days are long past now… You fought well today. I can see why you deserve to wield the Yato. And yes, I know that blade. Sumeragi once spoke of it to me."

"What did he say?"

"Listen carefully… The Yato is the key to the Seal of Flames. The Seal of Flames contains limitless power… It is said that it is a weapon capable even of destroying the gods that made it." Fuga answered and Kaguya felt hope arise in her chest and she gripped the hilt of the Yato even tighter.

"It has the power to even topple a god… Then… perhaps it could be used to…" She muttered and looked down at the sword.

"Yes, we have a glimmer of hope now." Azura added, clasping her hands together.

"Izana, from Izumo, should be more familiar with the legends. I suggest you seek him out and ask about the Seal of Flames. Our tribe will also provide aid for your trip." He looked around and a boy stepped up to Kaguya, staring directly in her eyes. At first, she had been unsure to take such a young one along with her but Hayato insisted on coming along so she had no other choice to let him come with them.

Since it started to grow dark, the group returned to the astral plane and decided to rest for the night. It has grown more lively thanks to the addition but the castle was still eerily quiet at such a time and Kaguya was sitting on the windowsill staring outside. She could see Hana training and Subaki in the stables taking care of his pegasus. It made fun to watch them, but Kaguya's mind started to wander to her family in Nohr.

She was sure that she has to fight them at one time - even if she doesn't wanted it.

Her heart clenched at the thought of fighting against Xander. She might not have the best prospects in winning against him and he was quite the stubborn man so he might not listen to her. She let out a small chuckle when she remembered how stubborn he sometimes was, mostly when something concerned him and he wouldn't let anyone help.

Her heart started to ache at the bittersweet memories and she felt like she wanted to cry, but held back the tears.

Nothing would help her only because she was crying, not even the fact that she was missing Xander and wanted to see him again. She tried to stay positive and believe that Xander would agree to fight by her side sooner or later.

Yawning she stretched her limbs and got up from the windowsill, walking towards her bed and fell down on the mattress, almost immediately falling asleep.

The next morning the group moved out towards Izumo and the travel to the small city showed to be much more tricky than Kaguya thought as they had to avoid conflict and so they reached Izumo after a few days.

Heading towards the central palace, they were greeted by Izana who turned out to be an impostor - a mage from Nohr named Zola who set off an ice bomb and made it almost impossible to get through the snow-enclosed town.

However, Kaguya did not let herself grow irritated by it all and fought through the ice and snow masses until she stood right in front of Zola. He tried to conjure some illusions to make her surrender, but Kaguya stayed strong and soon the fight was over.

"We've won." Kaguya said standing over him. "You can't escape now. Tell us where the Archduke is."

"Ha, you really think it'd be that easy? What a naive little girl you are. I always have an escape plan!" Zola sneered and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hearing a scream behind herself, she turned around to see him holding Sakura captive.

"Ho! Look at me and my adorable hostage!" He grinned viciously as he had one arm snaked around Sakura's neck and was holding her tightly.

"Kaguya!" Sakura whimpered as she tried to wriggle free, but was undoubtedly too weak for it.

"Let her go, Zola! Are you really going to stoop this low?"

"Pfft, yo your honor! I'd rather win as winners are the ones who write history! Now, put down your weapons or the girl…" He was saying something when a dark red light surrounded him and it looked like he was smashed together, fading into nothingness with a pained scream.

"It can't be… that magic…" Kaguya muttered, she has seen that magic often enough to know who was able to cast such a powerful magic. She looked around in hope to find him, but Leo appeared behind her on his horse.

"You were the lowest of the low, Zola. Hiding behind hostages - you disgraced the entire Nohrian army." He spat and Kaguya turned around to look at him, relief in her face as she saw her little brother but he seemed not to share the feeling.

"I knew it! I knew it was you, Leo. Thank you for saving Sakura." Kaguya said, a small smile on her lips but Leo only shot her a doubtful glance. "Um… will you join us, Leo? I have learned a dire truth and do not wish to fight Nohr… I mean, after I refused to join a side I learned that King Garon… was manipulated by someone."

"What? How do you know it?" Leo asked, his curiosity piqued as Kaguya tried to gather her thoughts.

"That… he didn't want to start a war with Hoshido, he is manipulated by an invisible enemy behind the scene. Our real enemy!"

"So who is that manipulator? Name him!" Leo demanded with an angry expression and Kaguya felt her throat grow dry. She couldn't tell him who it was and she was sure he would not believe her if she told him she was unable to say the name. And just as she thought, Leo did not believe her and only gritted his teeth angrily.

"Now, I should have expected such a thing from a traitor. Now for your knowledge, you have betrayed our family and I don't see you as a sister anymore. I came here to clean up that vile mage. You and I will settle our differences at an other time."

He opened Brynhild for a moment and threw a magic attack at Kaguya though it landed behind her which showed her that he doesn't meant it. She could see the pain in his eyes and bit her bottom lip.

"Are you all right, Kaguya?" Azura asked in surprise as Kaguya did not react after the attack so she showed her a gentle smile to soothe her worries.

"I'm fine, don't worry. I don't think he was aiming at me. The door to that banquet hall has seen better days, though…"

"Go on, Kaguya. The archduke should be inside. Along with the pathetic Hoshidan prince, Takumi." Leo said and then grabbed the reins of his horse, turning around and soon he was out of sight. Kaguya only kept staring after him, it has hurt her what he has told her and she felt herself growing extremely sad - to the point that she wanted to curl up and cry. However, she couldn't let her emotions get the better of her and she joined the others in the banquet hall as they were untying the hostages.

The real Izana was grinning widely upon noticing her and came running up to Kaguya, grasped her hand and was bouncing up and down.

"Why, yes! It is I, Archduke Izana, first heir to the divine bloodline, descend…"

"I… kind of heard that part." Kaguya muttered, feeling a little bit weird when she talked with the archduke, he certainly seemed to have an unique personality. And slight eccentric.

"Even the hair part?"

"...Yes?" Kaguya answered and Izana sighed with a disappointed expression, but quickly cheered up, looking at Sakura next to Kaguya and wiped his hair back with a very theatrical movement, pointing further back into the hall.

"Ah, the fair princess Sakura! I believe your brother is around here somewhere. He was left in a situation similar to my own."

"Takumi is really here?" Sakura asked hopefully and rushed over to Takumi who sat gloomily on the ground, fiddling with the Fujin Yumi in his hands.

"Takumi, I'm so glad you're safe!" Sakura shouted and threw herself in Takumi's arms who looked really shocked.

"Sakura?" He asked with a quizzical expression but it turned more dark once he realized Kaguya and Azura were with her. "Oh, Kaguya and Azura. What are you all doing here?"

"Well… I decided that I would fight alongside Kaguya." Sakura said as she slowly let go of Takumi who looked like someone just slapped him.

"What? Sakura, you've turned against Hoshido as well? Ryoma is going to be devastated…"

"No, I h-haven't! Neither had Kaguya! No one here has, actually. None of us plan to fight against Hoshido. Kaguya says there is something much worse than Nohr's aggression going on. She can't explain, but I trust her. Takumi, p-please, trust her too!" Sakura shouted and it was the first time Kaguya saw her that determined and it impressed her.

"Hmpf, you have to excuse me if I don't find this flimsy explanation acceptable. Sakura may believe your story - I don't."

"I see…" Kaguya muttered, feeling even worse now. She had no idea what else she could do or say to convince Takumi of joining them when Izana butted in and told Takumi that he had all wrong.

"I'm not going into the details, but you should join Kaguya. That's what the gods are telling me! Just got some prophetic stuff from them!" He said, wiping his hand over his hair and Takumi shot him an exasperated glare.

The two of them bickered whether Izana truly had a prophetic vision but in the end a sulking Izana grabbed a glass orb and began channeling.

" _Everything is not yet seen… the truth is far and hidden low. The one upon the water's surface, he who knows all is the true foe…_ There ya go! The gods really want to speak to you, Prince Takumi! Princess Kaguya is not your enemy."

"Then who is? What was Sakura saying a moment ago… that Kaguya knows something about our supposed enemy?"

"Yes." Kaguya nodded. "I can't explain it all now, but what Archduke Izana says is true. We came to Izumo hoping to find a way to defeat our mystery enemy." Kaguya answered, biting her tongue as she almost said the name.

"Oh, right. About the Seal of Flames. I'm sorry but I don't know anything about that. But even so, ma family does have a saying that's been passed down for generations… _We will show she who shuns the light and dark another way_. So, there you have it!"

"What does that mean?" Azura asked, obviously curious about what Izana was saying while Kaguya tried to concentrate on the events unfolding in front of her without taking care of Izana's weird whims.

"It means I need to show you a new path! If you excuse me, I'll go hold a little ceremony and ask an ancient god for help! I want to get it over with, ancient gods aren't exactly easy on the eyes." Izana waved with his fan and retreated to the back, closing a sliding door behind himself.

"I hope he will return with some sort of helpful clue to all this." Azura sighed as she sat down on the ground, apparently expecting to wait for a longer time so Kaguya did the same.

"I'm sure things will work out. Let's have faith and wait here for him."

Some time passed until Izana came back stumbling over his own feet and certainly looking very exhausted.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Archduke, what's wrong? You look exhausted!" Kaguya shouted and jumped back on her feet, running towards the Archduke.

"I had a chat… with an ancient god… But even I don't understand it, they are so short, too… _Go meet the dragon_ … and _Ask Aria to know more_."

"A dragon… and Aria?" Kaguya muttered, sounding confused. She already expected that Aria might know something but she has no chance to ask her as she was not here and she had no idea where she might be - after all, it had been Aria who usually visited her. But the dragon part was the one surprising her the most.

"I'm sure you will figure it out, after all I definitely gave my life for the message." Izana groaned and started to fall, but Kaguya caught him and helped him to lay down on the ground.

"You're dying?! How did that happen?!"

"Well, every message has a price and this time the price was my life. I'd really like if a bard wrote a great masterpiece about my noble sacrifice. Oh, right. Prince Takumi… I know I asked before, but… make sure you help out Kaguya, okay?"

"But… but I…" Takumi muttered, his eyes wide almost like he could not believe what was happening.

"You're still not willing? I'm dying here and you're still unsure? Listen, if you don't… I'll come back as a ghost and haunt you. All the time. Booo!" Izana said with a smug smile, the thought of haunting someone probably amused him and he said good-bye before closing his eyes. Kaguya stared shocked at him as his body went limp in her arms and some of his servants soon arrived and took away his body.

"He was an admirable man… but this is my fault… If I hadn't picked this path, the archduke wouldn't have died like this…. I didn't realize the cost of my goal, as right as I believe it to be…" Kaguya muttered and hung her head. She doesn't wanted anyone to lose their lives anymore, enough people have died during the course of the past few weeks.

"You must keep believing in it. Don't waste his sacrifice." Takumi suddenly spoke up and put his hand on her shoulder so that she looked up into his face.

"Takumi…"

"Listen. I'm going to accomplish your mission. I'll fight with you. After all, it was the archduke's dying wish. So, I'm coming along… Sister."

"Thank you, Takumi, I won't let you down." Kaguya answered and suddenly two people popped out of nowhere next to them which surprised Kaguya and she stumbled to the side. They turned out to be Takumi's retainers Hinata and Oboro who told her that they will fight with them as well as it was their job s Takumi's retainers so Kaguya was happy that she gained more allies.

The group returned to the astral plane as everyone was worn out from the long travels and almost constant fighting, but no matter how much Kaguya tried to relax - she just couldn't.

She left her room with a heavy sigh and walked outside to the gardens which were filled with various bushes carrying fruit, sitting down on the fence, looking to the distance. She couldn't get Leo's words out of her mind or the fact that Izana gave his life only for a message Kaguya had wanted. Her heart seemed torn and she doesn't wanted to see any more people die because of her.

Biting her bottom lip, she hung her head and looked at her hands in her lap. She just simply wanted everyone to be happy and live a peaceful life.

"What are you doing here?" She heard Takumi's voice behind herself and turned her head to look over her shoulder. He was standing in the field behind her, without his jacket and holding Fujin Yumi in his hand.

"Oh, Takumi…" Kaguya muttered and slid down from the fence. "Just… thinking. That's all."

Takumi stared at her for a moment, but then sighed with a slight flustered expression.

"Well, let's go hunting then!"

"Huh?"

"Did you not hear me? We are going out - hunting!"

"But I can't use a bow." She replied and Takumi shot her a small glare, rubbing his forehead.

"That's fine, too. Let's practice!" He said and Kaguya had no chance to reply as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her along to a spot where he has built up an archery range and handed her a bow. Kaguya only stared at it, she did not know how to use one as she never used one and so Takumi helped her with her stance and showed her how to bend the strings and all the handling with a bow.

It had confused her at first why he was doing that but realized after he asked for the fifth time if she was feeling all right that he might have grown worried and searched for something to cheer her up. Kaguya was really grateful he has forced her to practice archery as it kept her mind off her negative thoughts.

"Kaguya! Concentrate!"

"I am!"


	8. Chapter VII

**Chapter VII**

Days passed and Ryoma's retainers as well as Mikoto's joined Kaguya which made her feel relieved, her group has grown considerably during the past few weeks in which she had been traveling the country in search for hints how to defeat Anankos as well as recruiting more people for her cause. However, Kaguya felt immensely uncomfortable during the day as both Saizo and Kagero were following her in the shadows. While Kagero did so to keep her safe, Saizo seemed to wait for her to make some kind of mistake and reveal herself to truly be a traitor. Surprisingly, after that one night in which Takumi used teaching Kaguya archery as a reason to cheer her up, she started to like it and was more than often heading to see Takumi and asking him for help which he seemed to like.

Interacting with the people helped Kaguya to relax and she had no time to think about negative things which she was glad for. This way, she could concentrate more on the tasks on hand.

"So… what should I do now?" Kaguya asked and tilted her head as Orochi held out a few papers to her. Her mother's retainer has insisted on making a serene prophecy for her although Kaguya was against it at first.

"Just pick one card and I will tell you what it describes about your future life!" Orochi grinned which made Kaguya wonder if she could also make a divination about their fight against Anankos, but shook her head.

"No matter which, right?"

"Yep!"

"Um…" Kaguya looked intently at the papers in front of her and eventually picked one without giving it much thought and Orochi laughed. "W-what?"

"This one is about your future husband."

"Eh?!" Kaguya felt her cheeks redden as she heard Orochi say _future husband_. Until now she has never once thought about having a partner in life and so was a bit surprised hearing that it was the first one she picked.

"Yes, it says you have already met him and hold him dear in your heart. So, any idea who it might be?" Orochi leaned forward and had a very interested expression on her face. Kaguya's mind immediately wandered to Xander and she winced, her face growing bright red. She had not expected to think about him first when imagining someone she held dear and pressed her hands to her cheeks, turning away in embarrassment.

"Oh, so you do know who it is." Orochi said teasingly and inched closer to her.

"N-no! That's not it! That…. NO!" Kaguya shook her head and jumped on her feet, rushing out of the main hall while shouting a thank you.

Kaguya was sure that she had only thought of Xander because he was the paragon of a man she wanted so she shook her head and was closing the door behind herself when Azura came running up to her.

"Kaguya!"

"What's wrong, Azura?"

"Well, I think we have rested enough, don't you think? We have to get to Cheve otherwise Ryoma will leave it before we arrive and chasing after him will be no easy feat."

"Hm, you're right I suppose." Kaguya answered, remembering the conversation she had with Kagero and Saizo about Ryoma trying to befriend the rebels in Cheve to fight with them against Nohr. They have already lost some time as everyone needed to rest, so they had to move out.

Takumi told Kaguya about ferries going to Cheve from a Hoshidan town and so everyone moved out to reach the town in time to catch the ferries.

"Whew, we arrived just in time." Kaguya sighed as she walked on deck of the ship and headed over to the railing to look down. It was the first time she was going to travel via a ship and she felt excited.

"Yes, but you should rest while we have the opportunity to do so." Sakura told her standing close and Kaguya nodded, but she had no intention of sitting down - she wanted to see the ship floating above the water and see how the waves broke on the wood.

"Pardon me, milady." Jakob approached Kaguya who turned to look at him with a spark of excitement in her eyes at seeing the ship move. "The captain says everything is going well. We should reach the port tomorrow."

"I see, thank you Jakob. But do you think the sky looks darker? It's still early morning, after all. And the boat is starting to rock more than normal."

"Hm, it looks like those are storm clouds out there. Let's get below before the rain comes." Jakob beckoned her over to the cabins and Kaguya nodded and made a step backwards when the boat suddenly rocked violently and she lost her footing. She was about to fall, but Jakob quickly caught her.

"The boat just lurched to a stop! Are you all right, milady?"

"Yes… I wonder what's wrong. We should go and take a look." Kaguya said and rushed to the front deck to see what was ahead of her, only to notice her breath turning to steam and her eyes grew bigger when she noticed the sea in front of them glistening.

"The entire sea had been frozen solid?!"

"How could this be?" Jakob muttered, having followed Kaguya. "It's impossible for it to get this cold this fast! Lady Kaguya, do you see that out there? Someone's coming this way… Wait, Lady Camilla?!"

Kaguya's head shot up hearing her older sister's name and her breath caught in her throat seeing her. She would have been happy to see her, but the fact that Camilla was were probably meant nothing good. She gritted her teeth as Camilla came flying out to her, a painful expression on her face.

"Ah, Kaguya… I'm so glad to see you're unharmed. Ever since your dreadful confrontation with Xander and rushing off the battlefield, I've wanted to see you."

"Camilla…"

"Kaguya, you're still as cute as ever. But you have to stop thinking of me as your sister. Don't think of me that way. It will be easier for both of us if we don't cling to sentimentality." Camilla sighed, raising her brows and Kaguya felt her heart drop.

"Sister, can't you see that I am trying to do something good for both kingdoms?"

"I hear your words, but Father has demanded that you be put to death. Kaguya, I love you so much, from the bottom of my heart. But that doesn't mean I can disobey a direct order from Father. It's a tragic end of things, but since you betrayed Nohr… I have no choice."

"You're wrong, Camilla! I haven't betrayed you or anyone else!" Kaguya shouted in shock when she noticed how Camilla looked over to Flora who has accompanied her and because of her the snow started to fall similar to a blizzard.

"Kaguya… I love you too much to let you go on like this. Though all I can do for you now is end your life with my own hands. Come to me, Kaguya. Let me hear your last words. I'll remember them forever, my beloved little sister." Camilla said as she rightly grabbed hold of her battle axe and charged at Kaguya who felt desperation creep up in her heart. She had no other choice than to fight Camilla if she wanted her to listen and so she pulled Yato out of the sheath and prepared to fight.

Thanks to Camilla often training with her, Kaguya knew what kind of techniques her older sister was using she was able to withstand the most damage and used the dancing-like techniques of swordplay Aria has taught her to defeat her older sister without dealing too much damage. It was rather that Camilla lost too much energy to go on and she collapsed on the ground.

"You've won, Kaguya. Now kill me." Camilla muttered, looking dejected.

"Camilla, what are you talking about?" Kaguya gasped in shock as she tried to catch breath, satisfyingly watching Azura supporting Takumi in defeating Flora. Camilla's retainers intervened and tried to talk Camilla into retreating and trying again, but the Nohrian princess only shook her head.

"No! You know as well as I that death awaits those that fail my father. We'll be executed if we return home. I'd rather die at Kaguya's hands - to have the last thing I see be her face. Please, Kaguya…" Camilla looked up pleadingly to her and Kaguya frowned, gripping the hilt of Yato tighter. It hurt her to see Camilla plead for her death like this.

"Camilla, are you sure about this? You're willing to surrender your life to me?"

"I am! Go on, my dear sister. I won't beg for mercy." Camilla replied and hung her head, almost like she readied to be beheaded but Kaguya shook her head and sheathed her sword.

"In that case… Camilla, you're coming with us."

"You can't be serious." Camilla gasped and her head snapped upwards, shock seen plainly on her face.

"Are you out of your mind, Kaguya?! They just tried to kill you! Why would you invite them to join?" Takumi shouted and moved towards Kaguya with an angry expression.

"Takumi, I know how you feel about Nohr, but you can't believe I would kill my sister. Even though she fought against us, it was only because King Garon demanded it. Now she is safe from him. Remember, our real enemy isn't part of Hoshido or Nohr." Kaguya quickly stopped him and Takumi stared at her, sighing heavily before backing down.

"Our real enemy?" Camilla asked, sounding curious.

"I'm sorry, I can't talk about it here. But I want you to believe me. We're fighting to bring an end to this war. There has to be a way that doesn't destroy Nohr or Hoshido. We'll find it together!" Kaguya shouted and smiled encouragingly when Flora spoke up.

"Whoa, Lady Kaguya… Did your sword just glow?"

"I remember this look. This is the same look you'd give me when you'd made up your mind. I always loved that strong, determined look. All right. I believe you and will fight for you. The least a big sister can do is believe in her little sister." Camilla said with a smile and got back up on her feet.

"Thank you, Camilla!" Kaguya smiled, overjoyed and then Camilla's retainers spoke up, telling her that they planned to join as well due to Camilla joining and then she looked over to Flora who stood there, not saying anything and only stared at Kaguya.

"What about you, Flora? Will you come with us, too?"

"No. I can't abandon the Ice Tribe. There are still too many of them in danger, including my father. I cannot go with you." Flora answered, shaking her head.

"Won't it be dangerous for you?"

"Don't worry, I told them to go into hiding anyway. I'm going to meet up with them and lay low to avoid Nohr. I'm putting my faith in you, Lady Kaguya. My tribe will be able to return home if you, the hero, put an end to this fighting."

"Hero?" Kaguya asked bewildered. She certainly did not feel like a hero and wondered why Flora was telling her that.

"Yes, a moment ago I saw your sword glow. I'm sure it must be the sword spoken of in legends from my tribe. Well, it looks very much like the one described in the legends. A shining sword. The one who wields it is supposed to save the world. Which would make you the hero, wouldn't it, Lady Kaguya?"

"That's a bit of an exaggeration." Kaguya answered and blushed, but then said goodbye to Flora who left with some of the fighters from the Ice Tribe. Kaguya and Camilla had went to see them off and Kaguya watched them slide over the ocean back to the mainland.

"Hopefully they find a proper place to hide." Kaguya whispered and felt Camilla putting her arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry, they are very skilled at manipulating ice. I'm sure they can build themselves a good hiding place. Just like when you built that large snow fort to hide in." Camilla chuckled and Kaguya smiled at the memory. Everyone has panicked, trying to figure out where Kaguya has disappeared off to. It was Xander who eventually found out where she was an ran straight into the snow fort, thinking Kaguya got buried under it.

"You know, Camilla… I'm glad we're together again. I missed talking with you."

"I was just thinking the same thing. It's like a dream!" Camilla exclaimed in joy and wrapped her arms around Kaguya to pull her into a tight hug. "I think Flora had it right when she said you are a legendary hero. After all, you saved me back there."

"Are you saying you believe in the legend she mentioned?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I believe in you, Kaguya, and whatever it is you set out to do. If anyone can bring an end to this war, it will be you." Camilla chuckled and squeezed Kaguya even tighter, planting a kiss on the top of her head which made Kaguya blush in embarrassment.

"Camilla…"

"I can't imagine that the others all trust me, though. Do you know if it's Hoshidan tradition to listen in on the conversation of others?" Camilla turned her head around and Kaguya did the same, noticing Takumi, Sakura and Azura hiding behind the mast. They looked surprised that they were spotted and Camilla's eyes grew wide as she recognized Azura, telling Kaguya about the former Nohrian princess and her mother before making peace with the others.

"Ah, the ice seems to melt." Kaguya said as she took a peek over the railing. "Come, onwards to Cheve!"

Soon the ship started to move again and returned to its original trail towards Cheve, though Kaguya decided she had enough of watching the ocean and headed below deck with Camilla and her both retainers Beruka and Selena to chat and drink some tea.

"You should have seen it, Kaguya. I never saw Xander this angry when Father has ordered us to kill you. He almost seemed not himself, but he still accepted to follow his instructions. I guess he couldn't accept the thought of killing you - though none of us did." Camilla told her, sipping on her tea with a graceful movement.

"I see…" Kaguya muttered and looked down. She was a bit happy to hear that Xander did not want to fight her either, but she already knew he wouldn't disobey King Garon - he never did. "Um… Camilla… how long did you know I'm not your real sibling?"

"I have known for a while already. When we first met, I have expected you to be one of my half-siblings, like the others but after I overheard father talking I realized you were just adopted but I still love you, even when we are not related by blood." Camilla reached out and patted her head. "I can still remember the day I saw you for the first time. You seemed so small in your kimono and had absolutely no expression on your face. We tried to get closer to you, but you refused to interact with us and ran into the corner of a room whenever Xander, Leo or I approached you and cowered there. After a while you tried to escape by climbing out of the window of your room but at that time Xander entered the room and you got so surprised you slipped! Thank gods he managed to catch you in time. Since then you have opened up to us and now we are here with an unbreakable bond!"

"I have already forgotten that." Kaguya whispered. She faintly remembers the time after she was brought to Nohr but that was something she couldn't remember at all.

"It's no wonder, you were still very young." Camilla shook her head and smiled. "But since then you have been particularly attached to Xander - it made me jealous quite often."

"Y-yes…" Kaguya whispered and felt her cheeks grow warm. She hadn't expected Camilla to tell her outright that Kaguya has liked the crown prince since the beginning and her heart started to beat faster.

"But Selena, is there a reason you stare at my beloved little sister so much? I mean, I know that she has an adorable face and all." Camilla chuckled as she looked over to Selena who had been intently watching them and the red-haired woman winced, blushing slightly.

"N-no, it's just that… Lady Kaguya reminds me of someone I was close to in my homeland. She is very similar to her…" Selena replied and Kaguya got curious about that person.

"What kind of person is she?"

"She was as kind as Lady Kaguya is… and very skilled in tactics… but unfortunately, she died some time ago. She was the mother of one of my childhood friends and when I looked at Lady Kaguya I just thought she might be sitting here."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Kaguya said and found herself to be quite intrigued by Selena's story, she somehow wanted to meet that woman she was talking about. Camilla then mentioned that it would be nice to have two Kaguyas if that woman was truly almost the same and they once again started to chat about different things.

Early in the next morning they arrived in the port of Cyrkensia and Kaguya was partly glad to stand again on solid ground before looking around.

"What… it looks like a war zone…" She muttered and heard Camilla next to her mumble that the town was never a target before.

"Something must have happened while we were in Hoshido." Kaguya said and heard two pair of footsteps hurrying towards them only to see two men with weird ears and tails collapsing in front of them.

After being healed by Sakura, they told them that invisible forces had started to pluck the town apart and not the fighting. Realizing that Xander and Ryoma were fighting against each other without seeing the real foe, they hurried to the battlefield with two new allies who turned out to be shapeshifters.

Kaguya sprinted out from between the buildings and already saw the invisible enemies in the plaza between Ryoma and Xander, further destroying the town.

Her both brothers seemed to have noticed her and she could see Xander staring at her with a pained expression behind his constant frown before turning his head away.

Kaguya tried to explain that they should battle the invisible enemies but as they could not see it it was Kaguya's turn to make sure the fiends will disappear.

Kaguya told everyone to concentrate on the enemies in the middle of the plaza as she tried to run around the river to the closest bridge, but before she could reach it…

"Xander…" She gasped as she saw him sitting atop his horse right in front of her.

"We meet again, little princess." He answered and Kaguya could see his grip on Siegfried tightening. "Because I have regarded you as my beloved… sister... all these years… I'll give you one more chance. Are you certain you won't side with Nohr?"

"I am. I cannot change course now. But, Xander… I swear that I want the best for all of us! Ever since I learned the truth I've known that I needed you with me!" She said and put her hand to her chest as if to emphasize what she was saying and could see the crown prince wince and he looked to the side with a conflicted expression. Though he was constantly frowning, Kaguya has gotten used to make out his true emotions by paying attention to his eyes. It looked like he was struggling for words for a moment.

"...Nonsense. If you have truly turned against Nohr, I can no longer consider you my sister. Forget any feeling you may have, we now stand as enemies on the battlefield. But to end all of our relations... I will let you go. Only this one time." He sheathed his sword and turned the horse so that he was standing with his back to her.

"Xander…" Kaguya muttered but decided it was not the right time to argue with him and kept on running towards the plaza in the middle.

The battle did not last long, but both Ryoma and Xander refused to stop fighting so that Azura was forced to use her powers and sing a song to make them stop. Xander refused to stay too long on the battlefield and left while Ryoma was more willing to listen and told them to go and meet the Rainbow Sage in Notre Sagesse. He then left with one of the rebels named Scarlet so Kaguya's group had no other choice to move on to their next destination.

However, as they were heading to the Rainbow Sage's domain they came across a Nohrian ambush in the Port Town of Dia with a man exclaiming to be Kaguya's best friend. As he was readying to fight and Kaguya tried to remember him she heard the hooves of horses behind her and thought someone was ambushing them from behind. Turning around she could see Elise arriving, atop her horse.

"Here you are! I've finally caught up to you!" Kaguya's youngest sister beamed as she stopped right in front of her and slid off the horse.

"E-Elise?!"

"What are you doing here?!" Camilla asked, her eyes widen in shock and Elise giggled seeing her other sister, jumping up and down.

"Camilla! Yay! I was sure I'd find you with Kaguya! I've come to join you on your adventure!" Elise clasped her hands together in excitement, but her older sisters only stared at her, dumbfounded.

"J-join us? I'm glad to hear that, but… How did you get Xander and Leo to let you leave?" Kaguya eventually asked but Elise sulked

"Oh, that was easy. I didn't tell them!"

"What?!"

"No, Elise. I won't allow this." Camilla said sternly. "This is an incredibly dangerous war zone. I failed my mission, so I had no choice but flee. You still have a place to call home. Go back while you can."

"No! I won't go! I'm going to fight with you! I want to help!" Elise stayed stubborn and Kaguya could see that her mind would not be swayed so easily which is why she sighed

"Elise… coming with us means you'll constantly face danger. And… it's possible that we will end up fighting Xander and Leo at some point. Knowing that, are you sure you want to come with us?"

"Of course. I made up my mind before I even set out to find you. I had this feeling that you would need me to come and help you. Everyone in the castle was calling the two of you evil traitors… but I don't believe that you or Camilla are capable of being evil. I trust both of you. I trust that your reasons are good ones. You're my family." Elise said with a serious tone and her eyes seemed to drill themselves into Kaguya's.

"I'll happily welcome you. Thank you for coming after me even though I ran away from you. Let's fight together, I promise to protect you." Kaguya said and Elise jumped, clasping her hands together in joy. She hopped in front of Kaguya.

"Ready for an adventure? I am!" She then wrapped her arms around Kaguya and hid her face in her bosom. "I'm so happy."

Still holding Kaguya she looked up to her face and gave her a small and sighed, once again hugging her tightly and Kaguya hugged her back for a moment but she was surprised by Elise's retainers who seemed to appear out of nowhere, yet glad over more help in battle.

During the course of the battle, Elise managed to talk two border guards named Charlotte and Benny into joining them and Kaguya soon reached the man named Silas.

"Kaguya… so you've decided to face me directly. Now I'll be forced to kill you…" He muttered with a pained voice and looked like he was in pain.

"Why do you look so sad? Isn't killing me your mission?"

"When I became a castle knight, I did it hoping to see you again one day. And yet when we finally meet, it's on the battlefield, opposite one another. Prepare yourself, Kaguya. Though we're best friends, I must obey. Maybe it is better for you to go to your grave never remembering me…" He said and swung his javelin in his hand, preparing to strike Kaguya.

However, as the fought, Kaguya noticed he did not put as much power behind his strikes as he should and it truly looked like his heart was not in it. He had no plans of killing her and so Kaguya made it easy for him and hit his weapon out of his hand. The javelin spun around and landed with the tip in the ground next to them.

"I could tell you were holding back… why? Is it because what you said before, that you're my best friend? Even though King Garon ordered you to?" She asked and Silas sighed, sliding off his horse.

"Sometimes things are more important than a king's orders. For example, my honor as a knight. You have saved my life once. We used to play together when we were little and one day I snuck you out, knowing how much it meant to you. When we returned the guards tried to execute me, but you didn't let them do it."

Hearing Silas' words made Kaguya remember a small boy who has played with her everything she wanted, even when she had him dress up as a girl.

"Wait, I remember! When I was little, I had a playmate named Silas. Then it was you who showed me the outside world?"

"Yes, you were my dearest friend. Even if we must be enemies now, I wanted more than anything for you to remember. I knew there was no way I could bring myself to kill you." He sighed once more and rubbed his forehead.

"But if you disobey the king, you will be put to death."

"I don't care, I'd rather die than be forced to kill you. I only regret that I was never able to get back all that time we lost."

"You still can. Silas, will you join my group? I believe that we can save both Hoshido and Nohr." She stepped forwards and put her hands around his and Silas looked at her in surprise at first but then nodded.

"How could I possibly say no? My life is yours to do with as you see fit… my friend."

"Thank you, Silas. Now we have to get moving or we'll miss the ferry to Notre Sagesse."


	9. Chapter VIII

**Chapter VIII**

"Ugh, that old man wasn't kidding. This is the steepest hike I've ever done." Takumi groaned as the group was walking up Mount Sagesse to reach the Sevenfold Sanctuary. An old man living by the foot of the mountain has told them that they should go there as the sage lives deep within the sanctuary. Kaguya had also noticed that the path has grown more steep and turned around to check whether everyone was fine.

"What about you, Kaguya? Your face looks a bit flushed… If you need me to, I can carry you on my back like when you were small!" Camilla chuckled and came closer to her, grasping her shoulders but Kaguya only shot her sister an exasperated look.

Suddenly Takumi - who was walking farther behind Kaguya - stepped up next to her and pointed towards a building in the distance.

"Look! Is that the Sevenfold Sanctuary in the distance?"

"It must be… There can't possibly be two of these up here. We must be near the summit." Kaguya replied nodding and Takumi rubbed his chin deep in thoughts.

"Hmm… and the Sage is waiting at the very top… We must be ready for anything!"

Before Kaguya could say anything he rushed inside, apparently very excited to have a trial right ahead of him where he could prove himself.

The illusions in the sanctuary prove no real threat to them, but they were still powerful fiends and Kaguya was glad she met other two allies while fighting before reaching the very top. On the top floor was no one, only a door at the end of the room. Kaguya was standing right in front of it and Elise, Camilla, Sakura and Takumi surrounded her while the others were resting.

"The sage must be behind that door!" Elise exclaimed and pushed Kaguya towards the door, but Takumi stopped her.

"Hand on, let's not let our guard down just yet. Something is strange about that door, but I can't quite tell what though…"

"S-Strange? Then we should proceed with caution." Sakura muttered and looked nervously at the door, grabbing hold of Takumi's sleeve.

"Who knows what traps might be on the other side. Be careful, Kaguya." Camilla said as Kaguya grabbed hold of the doorknob and opened the door, suddenly being surrounded by white light. Once the light subsided, she found herself back at the old man's house and stared confused at him while he laughed.

"W-what… But… you're the old man from before!"

"Yes, this room is linked to the highest floor and quite convenient for me! I commend you for overcoming the trials I put you through. You are worthy of meeting me."

"I can't believe this… you're the Rainbow Sage?" Kaguya muttered as the old man was engulfed in bright light and changed his appearance to an old man with a long beard.

"Indeed I am. You set up the mountain in order to ask me something, did you not? Let me hear it."

"We're looking for a dragon. We've told that we needed to meet one. The dragon is said to help us stop this endless conflict between Nohr and Hoshido. I have to do whatever it takes to stop the fighting!" Kaguya explained and the Rainbow Sage showed her an impressed look.

"Ho, so you want to stop the war? All right, I will tell you where to find a dragon. But first, let me see that Yato of yours."

"Really? Ok, here." Kaguya pulled Yato out of the sheath and held it out to him. The Rainbow Sage touched the blade gently and closed his eyes.

" _I, who forged the sacred blade...I, who committed the great sin… I, who wove the divine colors… I call on you now, Seal of Flames!_ " The Yato started to glint in a bright color and the light flashed in the room revealing a transformed Yato which emitted a blue glow. "Your blade… it should be a little stronger now."

"Thank you so much!" Kaguya exclaimed, looking at her sword in admiration. "Is this… the Seal of Flames that Fuga mentioned?"

"No, not quite. To complete the Seal of Flames, you need the other four divine weapons. Once you have them, the Seal of Flames will become the Fire Emblem." The Rainbow Sage said, looking extremely weak.

"The Fire Emblem…"

"Yes, without that… you have no chance in succeeding in your quest… Don't lose heart. Continue down the path you've chosen…. It should lead…. You to each of the weapons you need…" He started to cough and sway, collapsing to the ground.

"Sage?! Something is wrong!" Kaguya shouted as she crouched down next to him and held him up, telling her two younger sister to heal him.

"Don't waste your energy. I have lived well beyond my time already…" The Rainbow Sage muttered weakly, coughing again. "Anyway, human magic… won't work on me…"

"Human magic? Why won't it? You don't mean you're…" Kaguya gasped and the Sage nodded with a faint smile.

"Yes, I am the dragon you've been searching for. Long, long ago… Twelve dragons were filled with desire… They fought over who would control the world… even though we knew exactly that only Arcardia was the strongest out of us, being the first one ever… For my part, I created the Yato and the other divine weapons. Doing so pulled humanity into our war. I wasn't able to die… until I had atoned for those sins…"

"But… that was long ago…" Kaguya said, knitting her brows.

"No… that doesn't matter… but if you want to know more… ask Arcardia… no, nowadays she goes under the name Aria…" He sighed heavily. "I've given your Yato… the last of my power… Kaguya… use the Yato… make… your destiny…" With his last words the Sage closed his eyes and his body went limp, but even so he looked very content.

"Sage…" She muttered and with the help of the others she buried the Rainbow Sage next to his house and stared at the gravestone, saying thank you in her mind.

"Aria?" She then heard Camilla muttering. "But I thought that was the name of the imaginary friend you made up, Kaguya dear."

"No, I've told you she was no imaginary friend. I don't know why she has always hidden herself while visiting me, but even so… I don't know where she might be. She never told me where she lives."

"So you've been practically visited by the first dragon all this time and she never said anything?" Takumi asked with a skeptical expression, but Kaguya only shrugged.

"No, that… I mean, she did tell me she was a dragon and she only told me a few things… indirectly." She shook her head. "Anyways, let's head to the Bottomless Canyon and secure out route to the final destination. We might still have time but precaution is not bad."

The group then returned to the astral plane to rest for a little bit and Kaguya was sitting on her bed and held the transformed Yato in her lap, staring at it. She doesn't wanted the sacrifice of the Rainbow Sage to go waste and so decided to do her best.

Some time passed and the group soon reached the Lava Fields which were leading to the Bottomless Canyon, only from the other side of the rift in the ground.

"Aw, there is no one here." Elise muttered dejected.

"It looks like neither Ryoma or Prince Xander were swayed to join us…" Takumi sighed, but Camilla only made a gesture with her hand.

"Let's not give up yet. We have still time until they might arrive - and even more so until the skies above Nohr and Hoshido will change."

"We truly still have a lot of time and securing our route might be difficult." Azura said, directing her words to Kaguya who shrugged and then noticed someone approaching and looked around.

"That's… Hans and the Nohrian army!"

"Great. Instead of getting Prince Xander's cooperation, we get an assault." Takumi hissed and grabbed Fujin Yumi, readying to fight.

"I can't believe he would do this!" Camilla shouted indignantly, but Kaguya did not react and only raised her brows as her heart seemed to sink and she felt like crying.

"Listen, Kaguya." Azura quickly intervened seeing Kaguya's expression. "You must stay strong. We can't lose here, or all we've done will be for nothing."

Kaguya nodded in return and could hear Hans shouting which lead the enemies to rush towards them. Takumi and Camilla rushed forwards to engage the enemy as some Nohrian soldiers came pouncing at Kaguya. She had not enough time to react, but it wa not needed as two figures stopped right in front of her.

"Don't get any closer! I won't let you lay a finger on my sister!" She could hear Ryoma shouting and Kaguya's face lit up seeing her older siblings.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kaguya." Ryoma said turning to her and Hinoka smiled at her.

"Don't worry - we've come to fight by your side."

"You all came!"

"Yes, Kaguya… After all this time, I'm finally with you. I'm happy that the two of us can fight side by side again." Hinoka looked very elated and Kaguya nodded in response, looking over to her retainers and Scarlet.

"Thank you, Hinoka! Thanks to everyone who came!" Kaguya said and felt Ryoma putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Unfortunately, we have no time for a tearful reunion. There's a fight ahead of us, so go ahead Kaguya. We're right behind you!"

"Yes!" Kaguya nodded and then charged onto the battlefield, striking down enemies while Ryoma followed her to support her in her battles. The two of them eventually came face to face with Hans but unlike before, Hans was no real threat. He was not as powerful as he was when Kaguya started her journey so she could defeat him with Ryoma's help.

"You have grown stronger, Kaguya." Ryoma said and put his hands on her shoulders with a smile and Kaguya got a queasy feeling, feeling embarrassed at the praise.

"Yes, we did it. We won. The battle is over."

"No, don't relax just yet!" Azura said rushing over to them as Ryoma took his hands off Kaguya's shoulders. "It's not quite finished!"

"What?"

"Look over there." Azura pointed at the forest close to the Lava Fields which revealed the rest of the Nohrian army.

"Is that… Iago? Nohr sent his army after us, too?" Kaguya shouted in shock, her breath catching in her throat. "Jeez, there are so many of them! Do we need to retreat and regroup?"

"I don't think we can afford to flee. Otherwise we won't be able to fight our way back to the Bottomless Canyon." Azura answered with a grim expression.

"Then our only choice is to stay and fight! But are we digging our own graves here? This can't be how everything ends. We've come so far…" Kaguya whispered, her eyes scanning the battlefield which was filled with Nohrian soldiers.

"Don't worry, Kaguya, we will be fine." Ryoma said and gained a doubtful look from his sister. "Listen, I didn't come all this way just to die or turn tail and run. Everyone here has come to fight with you because they believe in you. Including me. Cast off your worries. No matter how dire things look, you must fight on. The Yato chose you to carry it. I know you can do this."

"Thank you, big brother." She turned around and pointed to the enemy soldiers. "All right, we don't have a choice! Everyone, prepare for battle!"

Heeding her orders, the soldiers moved out and Kaguya rushed right between various people while defeating them, heading toward Iago. She had enough of him using his power as the Nohrian tactician to abuse his rights and she was halfway through the soldiers blocking her way when she noticed even more appearing from between the trees and knocked her back as she blocked a descent of blades.

"What's this… more enemy reinforcements? How many soldiers can there possibly be? Things are looking bad…" She groaned as she moved her arm which felt like it was dislocated.

"Don't worry, Kaguya! We'll get you through this!"

"Jeez, you really can't get anything done without help, can you?"

She could hear two familiar voices from afar and moved her head up to see who it was, only to see Xander and Leo emerge from the woods.

"It looks like we arrived in time." Xander sighed in relief and smiled at Kaguya from across the battlefield which made her heart skip a beat and her cheeks flushed red. "We fight together, Kaguya. I'm sorry it took us this long to join you…"

"Iago's forces will prove no match for me. I'll crush them in the blink of an eye. I've never liked his illusory magic… It will be a pleasure to remove him permanently from the Nohrian army." Leo said with a bemused smile, stroking Brynhildr.

"So, his forces didn't come here on your orders… But I still don't get it. What made you change your mind?" Kaguya asked and stopped several blades coming at her, parrying with quick moves.

"We'll talk more later, Kaguya. We have to combine our strength and clear the way to victory!" Xander told her and Kaguya agreed, continuing to move onwards towards Iago as her two brothers' retainers joined the fray.

Soon, she stood right in front of Iago who showed her a cool grin.

"I must congratulate you for making it as far as you have. However, it is now your time to die. With you out of the way, the world will be King Garon's for the taking. Enjoy reflecting on all your mistakes… in the afterlife!"

"Stop it, Iago!" She shouted as she dodged some of his magic attacks, finding out that her newly transformed Yato could block magical attacks as well.

"Why should I be listening to you, a vile traitor?" Iago answered and suddenly found several Iagos in front of her, all of them turning to attack her though she tried her best to dodge it. The last one was strong enough to hurt her and burned her feet. She fell to the ground, hissing in pain but still tried to get up and keep on fighting when Iago stepped in front of her and captured her in a ring made out of magic power.

"It seems like you are not strong enough to go against me. How pathetic." He said and raised his hand so that a huge ball of fire appeared above her and Kaguya was unable to escape as she was captured in the circle of magic.

She could hear her allie screaming her name and heard Xander screaming her name the loudest out of them all as the fireball drew closer and was about to devour her. Terrified, she closed her eyes and put her arm over her eyes to shield herself from the attack.


	10. Chapter IX

**Chapter IX**

However, before the fireball could injure her a azure blue light erupted across the entire battlefield and engulfed her in it, causing the magical sphere above her and the circle around her to disappear.

"W-what is that?!" Iago shouted in surprise as the light started to collect at the spot between Kaguya and Iago and turned into a female figure - and then a woman stood there with her hand on her hip.

Though Kaguya could not see her face, she saw knee-length azure blue ethereal hair tied to a long ponytail which seemed to glow and a tall, curvaceous body wearing a Nohrian-style cheongsam dress with no shoes.

"Nice try, human." Kaguya could recognize the monotone voice everywhere and her face lit up at seeing the person she has longed to see for nearly a year by now.

"Who are you?" Iago hissed at Aria who stood there, not impressed by him.

"What does it matter to you? You are not going to stay here for long either way." Aria replied and snapped her fingers. All Nohrian soldiers who were fighting for Iago caught azure fight and dissolved into nothing than dust. Iago made huge eyes seeing her kill all of the soldiers at once and started to tremble, moving away from Aria.

"This… this can't be happening… My plan… was perfect… I… King Garon… H-help...me…" He whimpered as azure flames engulfed him.

"Nice exit, coward." Aria said and then turned to Kaguya, her big electric blue eyes drilling into Kaguya's eyes. She had similar eyes to the princess, only the color was different and her ears were shaped the same, only a bit more pointed. "Are you all right, Kaguya?"

"Uhm… yes…" Kaguya said, still a bit surprised but then broke into a huge smile and jumped on her feet - ignoring the pain - and threw her arms around Aria who kept her emotionless expression. "I'm so glad to see you again, Aria!"

"I would have not expected you to bear-hug me, but it's nice to see you again as well. Now show me your feet."

Aria just finished taking care of Kaguya's feet as the Nohrian siblings and Ryoma gathered around her, Aria retreated further away and leaned against a tree to watch the events unfold.

"Are you all right, Kaguya?" Xander was the first one to reach her and put his hands on her upper arms, looking distraught.

"Y-yes, don't worry. I'm fine, Aria saved me." She answered and Xander took a glance to the female dragon in the back before sighing in relief and let go of her.

"All right. It seems that's the last of them then. Impressively, they were all killed at once."

"Xander! Leo! You're here!" Elise shouted as she was running up to her brothers and jumped into Leo's arms who was almost knocked over.

"My goodness, Elise… Do you really need to bounce around like that? Though I'm happy to see our wonderful brothers as well. Now all four of us are together, just like the Hoshidan brothers and sisters." Camilla chuckled and Leo smiled bitterly and turned around to see the approaching rest of the Hoshidian royal family. Hinoka and Takumi reacted quite aggressively at Leo's teasing, but Xander calmed them down.

"Relax, Leo. We have to stop thinking in terms of Us and Them. We all made the choice to come here."

"You're right, Xander. I apologize." Leo said and bobbed his head to the Hoshidan siblings as a way to apologize. "It's hard to get used to this, but after what happened to Father…"

"What do you mean? Did something happen in Nohr?" Kaguya asked, wondering whether King Garon has totally grew insane by now.

"When we last saw Father, he… He said that Hoshido and Nohr meant nothing to him. He commanded us to destroy both kingdoms." Xander sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"That's insane!"

"Kaguya, in Izumo you said that you thought Father was being controlled. I didn't believe you then, but after seeing how Father has changed… I've decided that you might have been correct all along." Leo added, frowning.

"It's true, Leo. I haven't lied to you. Our real enemy is controlling King Garon." Kaguya answered and put her hand to her chest.

"I apologize for calling you a traitor. If I had trusted you sooner, we would be in a better situation now."

"No, you don't need to apologize. Just having your trust now means more to me than you know." She answered and smiled at her little brother who showed her a small smile as well.

"As for me, until now I have risked my life time in defense of Nohr. I have no intention of turning my back on my kingdom. But if Father is not himself, and is a fact a danger to our home… Then it is my duty to follow you and do what it best for Nohr." Xander said and stepped closer to Kaguya, putting his hand on her shoulder with a gentle expression and squeezed it lightly. "Kaguya… I trust you. I trust that you'll remain true to your goal for lasting peace."

"Then I propose a truce between our kingdoms." Ryoma suddenly spoke up and walked over to Xander who turned to face him.

"What do you mean, Prince Ryoma?"

"You and I are similar, Xander, both in our goals and motivation. If there is a way to bring peace to our two kingdoms, that is the cause I will support. For the sake of our sister… For the sake of the world… Let us be allies in this." Ryoma said and held out his hand to Xander for a handshake. Xander seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then grabbed Ryoma's hand and the two of them shook her hands.

"I accept your proposal, Prince Ryoma. I hope that we can achieve a peaceful world."

Kaguya felt her heart grow warm at the exchange, it seemed almost like a dream to see her two older brothers deciding to be allies and her other siblings agreeing to it. She had done so much to achieve her dream of being able to be with her whole family and fight against Anankos with them and it made her feel relieved to see them, she teared up.

"Isn't it wonderful, Kaguya? You've managed to win over your family, blood related and not! Because of the choice you made, all of this became possible." Azura chuckled next to her, looked elated.

"Thanks, Azura. And thank you all. It means more than I can say for everyone to trust me." She let out a relieved sigh and suddenly felt Camilla wrap her arms around her.

"Aw, poor little Kaguya. Don't cry."

"I-I'm not crying!" Kaguya shouted, her cheeks reddening as she tried to wriggle out of Camilla's hold but she was holding on way too tight on Kaguya. "Now Camilla, let go! I'm all right - really!"

Camilla let out a little sigh as she let go of Kaguya who still blushed, feeling awkward of having been caught crying in joy right in front of everyone.

"So, we are all together here now… what is what we are against?" Leo asked, turning over to look at Kaguya who winced as she was rubbing the tears out of her eyes.

"Um… yes… about that…" Kaguya was trying to say she could not say anything as a curse would kill her, but had no idea how to tell them.

"His name is Anankos." Suddenly Aria appeared right next to her despite having been further away a moment ago and Kaguya winced in surprise, having not expected that.

"But…!" Azura looked shocked at Aria, but she only shook her head.

"My little brother's curse does not work on me, don't worry." Aria shook her head and Kaguya's eyes grew bigger as she heard her say little brother. "Anyways, as the portal is closed right now and you won't be able to enter Valla to learn the truth I will be so generous to tell you."

She then proceeded to tell them about Anankos and Valla, though she clearly did know more about it than Azura did. She explained that Anankos used to be kind and was friends with King Cadros - Azura's father - but as he was falling more into dragon madness, he killed his friend in his rage and because of it went completely insane. He had started to devour Valla and it disappeared in the rift between Hoshido and Nohr, now known as the Bottomless Canyon - that was why it serves as the portal. She added that they shouldn't mention any of it directly as Anankos had put up a curse to kill anyone - so that he couldn't be stopped.

"I have heard of the dragon madness. The Rainbow Sage spoke of it." Xander said, frowning as he seemed to proceed the information.

"Indeed, but that is his punishment. As we are the first dragons to have been ever created, we were put under different rules than the one created and born after us. We are not allowed to intervene in the matters of the world too much and he has broke the rule too many times. So he was punished with the dragon madness." Aria answered. "I am only here to support the battle against him."

Everyone went quiet hearing it and Aria shook her head.

"He closed off all kinds of portals, even the Outrealms. The only way to enter Valla is when the sky above Hoshido and Nohr will reverse but until then there's still a lot of time. Good thing is that he is also limited due to the closed portals, so you have time to make sure that your entrance then will be easy and get rid of all of his underlings here. Though I guess you wouldn't want to do that with Garon."

"So Father is really…?" Camilla muttered with a sad expression and Aria nodded.

"Yes, the real Garon has already died long ago - I suppose shortly before Elise's birth - and replaced by one of my brother's underlings. So it was not Garon whom you have listened to the entire time."

"But that's…!" Xander looked like he was about to object, but Aria quickly stopped him.

"You don't need to believe me. I just said the truth and that's all. Oh, and about the Seal of Flames, Kaguya." Aria turned to look at the princess. "It can only be done once you are about to fight Anankos, with the other four divine weapons - though you already have them with you as your brothers have them."

"How did you know I was searching for it?"

"Well, I have followed you since Izumo, only not visible. You should be proud of yourself, having come so far." Aria bobbed her head to the side and a shy smile spread on Kaguya's lips. She had no idea Aria would ever say such nice words to her.

"Oh, and do you know why the Yato has chosen me? I mean, there could have been others…"

Aria stayed quiet for a while and looked awkwardly to the side, apparently trying to collect her thoughts. She did seem to know the answer but had a hard time to say it.

"Do you remember… when I told you that your father is not the man you think he is?"

"Yes, you meant that King Garon is not my father."

"Yes… and no. I have also meant Sumeragi with that. You see, the Yato has chosen you because you have Anankos' blood running through your veins… and well, he is actually your father. That is why you can turn into a dragon."

Kaguya felt like something within her was breaking as she felt something cold in the pit of her stomach and everything seemed to freeze.

Her father is actually the one whom she is fighting against and she was truly the daughter of a dragon. Her mind seemed to reel and she did not know what to say. Aria told her that Mikoto has met Anankos when he split his human self from his dragon form and thus lost his memories, falling in love and eventually Kaguya was born. Soon after that, he regained his memories and has sent Mikoto and Kaguya away at the same moment Valla disappeared.

Kaguya felt like something has hit her right across the head and she had trouble breathing. Aria told her to not let it get over her head and to stay calm, thinking about it and Kaguya shook her head. She might have not expected Aria to tell her that, but she tried not to think too hard about it.

"Well, I… thank you for telling me… but we should head over to the astral plane to rest and regroup." Kaguya said and walked towards Aria, clasping her hands together and her eyes sparkling. "Will you join us?"

"Kaguya, I just said that… making puppy eyes won't work!" She said with a stern expression as Kaguya was looking hopefully at her. She wanted Aria to stay longer with her and she wanted to talk to her and hear more, but Aria seemed to be against it until she shot Kaguya an uneasy look and sighed. "All right, but as I said - don't expect me to help you."

Aria then clasped her hands together and an azure light surrounded them.

Hours went by and Kaguya could still hear her friends having fun at the banquet in the main hall, but she couldn't join them. Everyone had wanted to celebrate the fact that Nohr and Hoshido had put their disputes to rest and started to become allies, Kaguya was with them for the first few moments but she was in no mood to celebrate and instead sat on the fence by the berry fields.

She was still shocked by the fact that Anankos was her father and she tried to wrap her head around it, but no matter what she did she couldn't understand it. She had been happy to find out that Mikoto and Sumeragi were her parents, but as it turned out her father was not the man she thought. She had thought that her father would be a loving man, but as Anankos was out to kill her it was not what she has expected.

She grabbed a lock of her hair and stared at it. It was not her mother's hair color, but rather the same as Aria has so Kaguya figured out it must be Anankos' hair color in his human form - just like her red eyes.

Nonetheless, the thing that shocked her most was that none of her siblings were blood related to her and though they have told her over and over again she was their sister, she still felt incredibly uneasy being around them.

"Mother… why have you kept this a secret…" She muttered quietly.

"It seems like I have disturbed you greatly." Kaguya heard Aria saying behind her and turned her head around to see Aria approaching her. She had refused to celebrate with the others as she was not really a friend of huge banquets and disappeared somewhere else, returning just now.

"Wha… no, it's all right. I just feel weird knowing that he is my father." She shook her head as Aria stopped next to her, tilting her head yet keeping the emotionless face.

"Are you sure? You look really sad."

"No, it's just that I'm sad knowing that none of my siblings… are really my siblings."

"Does it matter if you are blood related or not? You are a sister to them and you see them as your siblings. You don't need to be their real sister to be a member of their family. They love you nonetheless." Aria answered. "So stop being so angry and sad about it. Just look forwards and never falter, moving towards your goal. And don't let the fact that Anko is your father bother you, after all you never interacted with him - just as he did."

"You… you are right. I shouldn't rack my brain about it." Kaguya nodded and swiped her long hair back over her shoulder. "But if you're his sister, then you're my paternal aunt, right?"

"Indeed I am. I wouldn't visit a person I have nothing to do with otherwise." Aria shrugged and then reached out to pat Kaguya's head. "Now, don't think too much about everything and relax for a change. Go and have fun with your family and friends."

"You won't come along?"

"No, I'm not fond of great masses and I have still things to do. Now, off with you." Aria gave her a gentle push and Kaguya turned around to thank her, but the female dragon was already gone. Kaguya giggled quietly, happy to have been able to talk with her aunt again even though it was short.

Returning to the others she was welcomed with open arms and Camilla put her arms around Kaguya, looking worried although she told her repeatedly that she was fine.

"Kaguya." After a while Azura approached her and tilted her head. "What do you plan to do now? After all, we have still time until the door to that kingdom opens."

"I think we should do what Aria has suggested and take care of his subjects in Nohr and Hoshido, but I will leave the decision what to do with Garon to Xander."

"That's a good idea. But for now we should rest and then hold a council what to do next."

Kaguya agreed to Azura's proposal and went on wondering how such a war council might look like as she walked to her room, having grown very tired. Many of the others also decided to turn in for the night and left the banquet hall, but others decided to stay up and train or do other things.

She was about to head into the castle, but heard a familiar voice nearby which made her heart thump faster. Ignoring her tiredness, she rushed over to the training hall to see Xander stand there, having shed his armor and a training sword in his hands. She watched him for a moment, ravished by the sight and she smiled remembering how she used to watch him like that many times before.

"Xander?" She asked as he made a small break and wiped the sweat from his brows and turned to look at Kaguya, his expression softening. "You're still training, are you? You should get some rest."

"Thank you for your concern, Kaguya, but I haven't a moment to lose. I must keep improving my sword technique for the glory of Nohr. As crown prince, it is my responsibility to be as strong as I can for our people." He said, gripping the training sword tighter again while continuing to swing it making Kaguya giggle.

"Even after all these years, you're still the same Xander."

"Oh? How so?" Xander suddenly stopped continuing his training and showed Kaguya a surprised look.

"Remember when I was little, and I'd get so lonely in the Northern Fortress? You'd always come stay with me until I got sleepy and then go train late into the night." Kaguya said, fondly remembering how Xander always held her hand and sat next to the bed or laid next to her and talked to her about anything - sometimes stroking over her head in a soothing manner.

"You knew about that? But how?" Xander said surprised and seemed to decide to take a break from training and walked up to Kaguya.

"I could see you from my window. After you left, I always watched you train for a bit. It's a little embarrassing, but I'd even try to imitate how you swung your sword. I thought if I matched your movements, maybe one day I could be as strong as you." Kaguya chuckled in embarrassment, her face flushing. She couldn't believe she was actually telling him that whereas she had promised herself she would never do that.

"I had no idea."

"I was always afraid if I told you about it, you might train elsewhere. Wow, thinking about all that is making me really nostalgic. Such great memories." Suddenly she got an idea to spend more time with him. "You know… we've been so busy, we haven't had a chance to train together in a while. Um, if you're not too busy, maybe we could practice sword swinging like old times…"

"That's the best idea I've heard all day. But it can't be like old times. This time, you and I shall train side by side. No more lonely Northern Fortress for you." He patted her head and Kaguya closed her eyes happily.

"All right, I'm going to get a sword!" She said and retreated to a nearby room where she has seen a few spare training swords lying around when she took a tour around the castle to memorize the layout. Kaguya grabbed the closest one and returned to Xander with a wide smile.

"By the by, how does it come you use those dancing-like movements during battle?" He asked as she positioned herself next to him.

"Um… Aria taught me as she said that the battle found be easier, especially dodging the attacks of the enemies. And it is quite helpful and has saved my life more than often during the battles in the past few weeks."

"That's good to hear. But I'm concerned how weak the guard around the Northern Fortress was for her to slip in." Xander sighed, frowning but Kaguya shook her head in denial.

"No, it was very well guarded but she had froze the time around the fortress and its grounds so that no one will notice her or how long she was staying there and once she left the time flowed normal again with no one knowing she was there." Kaguya answered and Xander looked gloomy as he then stepped in front of Kaguya, his sword ready.

"Fine, then show me what she has taught you."

"All right!"


	11. Chapter X

**Chapter X**

The war council was scheduled for the next day and Kaguya found herself extremely tired as she got up from bed, swaying when she changed into her everyday clothes. She hadn't been sleeping for long as she had been up for a very long time training her swordplay techniques with Xander who had to force her to go to sleep in the end although she tried to deny how tired she actually was.

She shook her head to get rid of the groggy state she was in and splashed her face with ice cold water and winced at the feeling but was feeling much more awake.

"Oh right, I told Hinoka I'll be eating breakfast with her. I shouldn't make her wait." She muttered to herself and hurried out of the room and towards the banquet hall, almost stumbling over her own feet.

It did almost feel like a dream to be able to spend time with her siblings like that, back then when she decided to follow her own path she was not that convinced she would be able to spend time with everyone like this - almost like they weren't in a war against Anankos.

"Kaguya, over here!" Elise shouted and waved as Kaguya entered the enormous hall and she could see her sitting together with Sakura, Hinoka and Camilla by the table, plates with food standing in front of them.

"Oh, you are all here already." Kaguya said and sat down between Camilla and Hinoka.

"Do you want me to feed you, Kaguya?" Camilla asked her with a gentle smile but Kaguya denied and quickly grabbed fork and knife before Camilla could, she knew her older sister well enough to know she would try to feed her. Meanwhile Sakura gave Kaguya some Hoshidan tea which she explained to be named _Matcha_. It had an interesting flavor and Kaguya found herself enjoying it while chatting with her sisters. Elise and Sakura told her that they planned to play the violin and the koto together whereas Hinoka explained Kaguya that she was learning from Camilla how to sew but it was more difficult than she thought it was. Taking a glance at Hinoka's hands which she tried to hide made it clear she did not know how to sew and just kept hurting herself.

Kaguya wanted to say that Hinoka was quite the clumsy one but decided to keep quiet and smirked to herself. Elise then asked Kaguya whether she could play the piano when she and Sakura would play their string instruments and Kaguya agreed, wanting to hear it herself.

The women kept chatting until it was time to assemble for the war council and headed out to meet up with the others, some of them were already waiting in the meeting hall and others stood outside chatting. Even so, it was refreshing to see nearly everyone out of their armors wearing everyday clothes as it showed that everyone was letting down their guard here and could feel safe and relaxed.

"You look tired." She heard a voice behind her saying and she turned around to see Ryoma standing behind her, his arms folded before his chest and the usual serious expression though Kaguya could see a tinge of worry.

"Yes, but this is my fault. I have been training for too long with Xander last night." She responds with a smile to make him stop worry but at the mention of the Nohrian crown prince's name Ryoma started to glare.

"You have been sparring with him all alone?" There was a certain sharpness in his tone.

"Uhm… yes. We have been doing so ever since I started to learn how to fight. Is… there a problem?" Kaguya looked confused at her older brother who shook his head.

"No, there is no problem." He looked lost in thoughts and remembers Hinoka telling her once that Ryoma doesn't liked to be interrupted when he was like that so she instead resorted in moving into the huge council room which could easily fit 200 men. The ceiling was formed like a dome and pillars surrounded the round table with banners depicting the emblem of Nohr and Hoshido. When they appeared there - Kaguya had no idea. She was unsure to where she should sit down when suddenly an arm snaked around her shoulder and turning around she saw Niles - Leo's retainer.

"Are you lost, milady? Should I show you the way?" He showed her a bemused smile and Kaguya sighed, peeling his arm off her.

"No, but thank you." Though she had spent only a little bit of time with her brother's retainers, she got to know them very well and though they were certainly weird in their own ways, Niles was the one who loved to see her flustered and disturbed. Ignoring it, she walked over to a harassed-looking Jakob next to Silas who apparently had fun talking with him. However, his face lit up upon seeing the princess.

"Good morning, milady. I hope you liked your meal."

"I did. Did you prepare it?" Kaguya asked as Jakob took her to a free seat at the end of the table.

"I… did. But I had to remake it as Felicia tried to join in cooking your meal… and well, it did not end well."

Kaguya giggled at the thought of Jakob's exasperation when dealing with Felicia as she noticed more people filling the room and the chair to her right moved back with Xander sitting down - and Leo next to him.

"Good morning, little princess. I hope you slept well." He asked in a friendly tone before throwing a glance at Ryoma who has sat down next to Kaguya's left with Takumi. And so, Kaguya found herself sitting between her brothers and felt like there was a fight brewing which made her feel uncomfortable.

As Kaguya has never lead a war council before, both Xander and Ryoma were the ones who started to speak and they resumed everything that has happened until now and it showed to be quite difficult as they were not allowed to mention Valla or Anankos but yet they managed to express what they wanted.

"When exactly is that day?" Hana asked as Kaguya let her gaze wander around the table. They all were sitting scattered and some preferred to stand than sit but everyone still took part of the conversation.

"Months from now, to be more precise - years. But as the time will pass quickly and he will try to close off all entrances, we should try and secure them at least. And I think it would be a good idea to follow Aria's suggestion to defeat the influence he has on Hoshido and Nohr." Azura spoke up, standing close to Kaguya as she has refused to sit down somewhere else and twiddled with a lock of her long hair.

"The only one of his… _influences_ … I remember in Hoshido was the one who killed Mother." Takumi said, a sour expression on his face.

"Are you sure it was one of his? It might have been something else." Leo answered and Takumi glared at the Nohrian prince. He was about to open his mouth, but was quickly stopped by Ryoma and Xander also reprimanded Leo to be nice. Both princes immediately hung their heads and went silent.

"I agree with Takumi. I have fought the figure and I can assume it was the same semi-invisible fiend we have heard of. I don't know where it disappeared to after the fight, but I believe it is still in Hoshido." Ryoma said and Scarlet clasped her hands, looking excited.

"Yes! And I bet those damn Faceless sent by the Nohrian army have something to do with it!"

"I can not recall anyone conjuring the Faceless, though. And I know the castle very well." Camilla said with a concerned expression.

"Probably a hidden room or something like that, milady." Her retainer Beruka remarked and Elise nodded.

"I have heard of hidden passages and places only known to Father from some servants. But I guess only Father and Iago know about them."

"We should finish speaking about one country and then go on to the other." Rinkah sighed and pushed her mask further up her head as it was about to slide down. "The question is how to find him."

"I… I have caught his scent that one time. I think I will be able to find him if we are close. But… how do we know where to start…?" Kaguya said and her fingers stroked over her nose and the faint scar across it which she got from an unfortunate accident when she was small.

"I would propose the capital! As he has appeared there first, his scent should be the strongest there. We can start from there." Kaden said and Kaguya was happy that someone with more experience in finding things with one's nose was among them - though Keaton could do the same but apparently decided to stay silent and listen.

"I wouldn't just go ahead and enter the capital to search. I would have spies scout the area." Ryoma said with a solemn expression, a quick glance to Kagero and Saizo in the shadows of the pillars and they nodded, almost like agreeing to Ryoma's idea.

"I think of it as a good idea as well. I will let some of my people come along as more people are more effective. Though it would be better if we were to have a map…" Before Xander could finish his sentence a snap resounded through the room and a huge map of Hoshido appeared in the middle of the table. Kaguya could feel a presence next to her, leaning against her chair and knew right away that Aria has joined them.

She did not get as surprised to her sudden appearances and disappearances like before (but she still got a bit startled when she seemingly materializes out of nowhere) yet the others were quite surprised that Aria just emerged next to Kaguya and wordlessly made a map of Hoshido appear.

They decided to ignore the ancient dragon and moved their attention to the map where Hinoka marked the spot where Mikoto died with a chess piece. It was the first time Kaguya has seen a map so detailed of the country and noticed that the capital was far bigger than she thought it was. It seemed like Azura just showed her a small part of it when showing her around.

As the Hoshidan siblings knew certainly more about the capital and the province surrounding it, Kaguya decided to let them decide on the route the spies should take and was glad they managed to talk about everything they planned to do.

However, as they shifted to talk about Nohr, Kaguya could see that Xander grew uncomfortable and stopped talking.

"From what we were told, it is not King Garon anymore. But what is he now?" Subaki asked as he played with a fruit in his hand, taken from one of the various fruit bowls scattered across the table.

"It's an entity called Blighted Dragon. You can see him as a sort of… fake dragon." Aria said, still having the same indifferent expression as always. In all the years Kaguya knew her, she could not remember her to have ever truly smiled or having a different expression.

"But he is in a human form…" Sakura mumbled timidly and Aria shrugged.

"I am as well. It's more easy to move around than being restricted by your dragon form's size. And he has to act as Garon on Anankos' orders so I guess it would have been a hassle stay in his original form."

"But it just doesn't sound right." Camilla answered with a pained expression. "Even if everything you say is true, Father must be there as well - even if it's not him controlling his body. I don't think he would have ever let himself go down like that… and the way he behaves…"

"He must be still the same." Leo stubbornly added with a frown.

"Do you really believe that? If he were the King Garon he was from years ago, wouldn't he be still behaving the same. From what I have heard about him, he would have never outright started a war if there weren't some benefits to him." Oboro added, her hateful glare piercing the Nohrian royal siblings.

"He is just simply stressed from everything that has happened!" Xander shouted and bashed his fist on the table, looking incredibly angry. Kaguya understood that he doesn't wanted to accept that his father was gone - just as she still refused to accept Anankos to be her biological father - and she wanted to say words of encouragement and to comfort him but she couldn't find any words. Instead she quietly stared at him as he stayed stubborn, even though the other Nohrian siblings tried to talk to him.

And so, they decided to let the spies scour the Hoshidan capital - a decision which ended the council meeting. Kaguya stayed sitting on her chair, thinking about Xander's pain when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Let him think about it more. Now, you better come with me. I want to show you something."

"All right." Kaguya rose from the chair and realized Aria was holding out a hand to her which confused her. "Uhm… what do you want me to do?"

"Give me your hand, obviously." Aria sighed and grasped Kaguya's hand. Before she could ask where they were going she could see light surround them and had a queasy feeling which felt like she was falling before the surroundings cleared themselves and she found herself stand in the middle of a dense forest and ruins of something resembling a temple in front of her.

"Where are we?" She asked Aria who was staring at the abandoned temple.

"This used to be a temple dedicated to the Twin Dragons of Valla - me and your father, hundreds and hundreds of years ago. But it has been abandoned for a very, very long time."

"So it is you two who are seen as the twin dragons…"

"Of course. We are twins, in a sense. And since Valla was the land we have first opened our eyes in after being created, the country was added to our epithet. But now, sentimental memories were not why I have brought you here." She pointed with her hands to the inner of the temple.

The temple resembled an old castle with the only room being a huge hall with a pedestal at the end. It seemed to have been once painted in white, but was a dirty gray color now and the left part has collapsed and it had no ceiling anymore. Plants grew wildly around it and on the walls. The most prominent feature of the ancient temple were two thrones standing on the pedestal partially hidden under something akin to a blanket.

"Are those thrones… dedicated to you two?"

"You can say Anankos' name here, we're in Valla." Aria said, but then nodded. "But yes, it should represent us. But that's not the reason why I brought you here as well. You probably know the saying that one has to know everything about the enemy to have a better understanding of them."

"U...uhm, yeah." Kaguya answered and looked around, still in surprise that she was brought to Valla just all of the sudden. "But what do you wish to tell me? I thought you have already said everything."

"No, not everything. Shortly after he has sent you and your mother away, he told me that it is his wish for his child to defeat him. In fact, his sentence for his punishment says _Your soul shall be relieved once your blood slays you_. And so, he has hoped all those years in which you grew up that one day you will defeat him and stop his Dragon Madness."

"I… I don't know what to say… I mean, I still try to accept that he is my father. I believe you when you said that I'm his daughter, but I don't remember anything of him and seeing that he tried to kill me so many times until now it just feels weird…" Kaguya shook her head and looked down at her hands when Aria stepped up and patted her head.

"That's the Dragon Madness, sweetie. It makes him not think rationally and act simply on his instincts. But I can tell you that he truly loves you and considering that he's actually a huge crybaby, I believe he cried when he held you for the first time. And after Mikoto and you left, he has lamented how much he misses you and that he won't be able to see you grow up." Aria shot her a gentle glance which made Kaguya feel flustered. Something warm bubbled up in her chest and she found herself wishing to have met him while he was still of right mind.

"I see.. I thank you for telling me about it. Of course, it surprises me but I'm glad to have got to know something new." Kaguya then looked over to the temple. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yes, of course."

"What were you two like before? Before he has fallen into madness?"

"Hm, you ask me about some thousand years that have passed between our birth and his descent into madness. But I can more or less tell you that. We have been something like parents to the other dragons and were something like executioners to the corrupted deities and entities, but we also created the portals to the Outrealms, the Dragon Gates. As I told you, we are not allowed to be too involved in the lives of the humans but during some events we couldn't avert our eyes. This lead to me developing Dragon Madness, but thanks to Anankos and some of our friends I returned to be myself. However, I have lost my memories and lived as a human among other humans until my memories returned and I came back to the world I came from. And that's pretty much every exciting thing that has happened." Aria looked melancholic as she talked, with a soft look in her eyes as she seemed to be relieving her memories.

"And… how did you come to take care of me? Because I'm your brother's daughter or because of something else?"

"No, no. I did it because you remind me of my own daughter." She answered and Kaguya looked surprised at her.

"You have a daughter?"

"I had one, but that was a long time ago. She's probably not alive anymore, after two thousand years. My poor girl, I had to leave her with her father and couldn't see her growing up…" She let out a long, pained sigh. "But I guess I just projected her on you and that's why I have stuck along for so long."

"What was your daughter's name?"

"Well... I have given her the name Mardia, but I don't know if he has changed her name. She was such a pretty little girl, with dark blue locks like he had…" Aria shook her head and looked back at Kaguya. "I'm sorry, I have been lamenting about my child here although you have other problems."

"N-no, it's really nice to hear about you. You usually don't tell me much about you." Kaguya smiled at her and Aria only rolled her eyes, but then took Kaguya's hand again.

"We should return before anyone will grow worried what has happened to you."

"All right." Kaguya agreed and saw the light surrounding her before finding herself standing in front of the main hall, Aria next to her.

"Oh right, if you want to truly secure everything from Anankos' influences, you should talk to Xander and try to make him agree to defeat Garon. Otherwise you might have problems when you were to enter Valla in such a huge mass. If he wants, let him have the final blow - but try to persuade him. After all, you are the one he might listen to most." And with those words, Aria disappeared as soon as she has appeared before and Kaguya found herself dizzy with all the new information she has received. But she couldn't forget the sad look in her eyes when she was talking about her own child and noticed that she must be really missing her, considering that she wasn't able to see her grow up and probably just saw her as a newborn babe.

"I wonder who her father was…" She mumbled to herself, having forgotten to ask Aria who her lover has been.

Kaguya was still lost in thoughts when a pair of hands covered her eyes from behind and she winced, realizing it was Camilla after smelling her scent.

"Well, who could it be?" Camilla asked with a playful tone in her voice and Kaguya decided to play along.

"I don't know. It does sound like my beloved older sister, but I'm not entirely sure as I can't see her gentle face."

"Oh, Kaguya, my darling!" Camilla pulled her hands away and instead enveloped Kaguya into a loving hug, kissing her forehead. Kaguya wiggled, trying to get away from her sister but Camilla just wouldn't let go of her. "How about you spend a bit of your time with your older sister? You have been so busy lately, we had no time to chat together."

"It sounds good." Kaguya smiled at Camilla which prompted her to hug her tightly once more.

The two of them moved to Kaguya's room with Camilla's sewing utensils and a blanket she was preparing for her.

"It looks really nice." Kaguya said and touched the soft, fluffy fabric.

"I made it especially for you. I planned to finish it earlier, but the recent events prevented me from continuing my work." Camilla looked proud at her work and helped Kaguya with the dress she had been making for herself and Camilla stroked over it lost in thoughts.

"Kaguya, I apologize for Xander's outburst and stubbornness during the council meeting. I know he was not thinking rationally, after all he is very loyal to Father and doesn't want to accept him not really being him. Or maybe he accepted it somewhere deep down but refuses to believe it."

"You don't need to worry about it. I can understand his worries." Kaguya replied as she concentrated on not stab herself with the needle. She had such accidents often enough.

"I think he might reconsider his decision when you talk to him. After all, he has always rather listened to you than any of us." Camilla giggled. "He has always been rather fond of you. Since the day you two met for the first time. I can't tell you how much he was hurt when you fled every time he approached you."

"Ugh." Hearing that made Kaguya feel bad, she could barely remember the time after her kidnapping and so hearing it from others. She could imagine the look in his eyes as she avoided him. Even to this day, he doesn't liked her avoiding him or not paying attention when he was saying something to her and though he doesn't showed his feelings - Kaguya knew.

"Aria has also told me to talk to him, but I don't know how to breach the topic. I know he will listen, but I don't want to be insensitive."

"Oh, just try to do it a little bit more discreetly. I have tried to talk with him, but he stayed the stubborn one. I guess he really hoped that Father will return to the man he was before the war and with Aria telling us that it's not Garon anymore… I guess his wish was simply crushed." Camilla looked at her with a more serious expression. "So please, beloved little sister. Try to talk to him when you have the chance, even if it's only to cheer him up."

"I'll try, I promise." Kaguya nodded, with determination and was about to continue her needlework when Camilla spoke up once again.

"Oh, but I forgot to mention… your friend, no aunt, is a really pretty one. I guess you were right all the time when you were saying she was no imaginary friend."

"I told you over and over again but none of you wanted to listen." Kaguya pouted, partially playfully and Camilla ruffled her head telling her that she will listen to her more in the future.


	12. Chapter XI

**Chapter XI**

Camilla left during late afternoon and under the pretense to see what the others were up to while in reality she went to search for Xander. Even though Camilla told her she has something to do, Kaguya had a hunch she was heading to see Ryoma with whom Kaguya has seen her more than often lately.

Kaguya came across Oboro who has been cleaning a room and got angry she was interrupted until Takumi came along and asked why she was nagging at his sister so much. Seeing Oboro so happy to see Takumi made Kaguya leave them alone.

She came across Odin who seemed to try to impress Kagero with his weird spell names, Azura and Leo who were sitting together and talking, Azama annoying Hinoka and Subaki and Selena having a cook-off as it seemed. She was almost about to enter the arena where everyone was usually having duels, but remembered that Xander might be training again and so returned to the spot where she has found him yesterday.

She could hear him shout as he trained his swordplay in the training hall and peeked into the enormous chamber. He was standing in the middle with a training sword in his hands, looking very concentrated. He wasn't wearing his armor and vest and Kaguya couldn't help but admire his elegant form as he trained, sweat rolling down his forehead.

Kaguya could feel her heart starting to beat faster and she gripped the doorframe harder due to the weird feeling in her chest. Realizing she was behaving weird, Kaguya shook her head and entered the training hall.

"At it again, Xander? Don't you ever rest?" Kaguya giggled approaching him and Xander stopped training to look around to her, a faint smile spreading on his lips seeing her.

"Kaguya…" He relaxed his stance and put his sword away. "If I train while my enemies are resting, or sleeping, I shall always have the advantage."

"Mind if I join in? I had a great time training with you the other day?" Kaguya said and showed him the training sword she has taken along once she heard him training which made Xander snort.

"Well prepared. I am always happy to have such a capable fighter aid me in my practice…" He suddenly grew quiet and stared at her which made Kaguya wonder if he was still thinking about what has happened during the war council.

"Is something the matter? I understand if you'd prefer to be alone right now." Kaguya said and shot him a worried look, but her brother shook his head.

"Oh no, not at all. I was just thinking about what you said the other day…" He scratched his head with a troubled expression. "Exactly how much sleep did I cause you to lose because of my training? Thinking back, I recall how hard it was to get you up in the morning. Am I to blame?"

"No, don't be silly." Kaguya laughed. "It's true I stayed up to watch, but it actually helped me sleep. Some people need to heat the ocean waves to lull themselves to sleep… I need to hear your powerful blade slicing through the night air. It's soothing. I know it sounds ridiculous, but watching you train always made me feel safe."

"Truly? Well, I suppose if that's the case I shall forgive us both." He reached out and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand which made her blush. She found herself wanting him to touch her more like that and wondered why she was feeling like that but upon looking up to him she noticed he still had a troubled expression.

"...Um, Xander? Is something else on your mind? You look troubled… is it because of what has happened during the council?"

"Am I such an open book to you?"

"You're swinging your sword so fiercely today, with a wild look in your eyes. It's the same look you always had on nights when you and King Garon would argue." Kaguya put a hand on his upper left arm stepping closer to him.

"... You're too clever for your own good, Kaguya. I have much on my mind, but I have no regrets about the decisions I've made. Like you, I am proceeding down the path I believe in, no matter the consequences… but I apologize for being rude during the council. I shouldn't have raised my voice like that."

"No, you don't need to apologize, really. I can understand your outburst." She showed him a gentle smile. "But what do you plan to do about King Garon, Xander? I believe Aria is saying the truth and we have to destroy his subjects here if we don't want to be interrupted once we enter that country."

"I know that. But a part of my mind is just simply refusing the fact that it's not Father anymore. I have really hoped that everything could be like it was before… but without you being locked up. I wouldn't let that happen again." He sighs loudly. "I know that my decision is crucial for our next moves, but I just need to think over it a bit."

"Of course. You can have as much time as you want." Kaguya answered and moved even closer to Xander, her arms hesitantly wrapping around his waist to hug him and thus soothe his worries.

"Thank you, little princess." He answers and leaned in, but then winced and ruffled her azure locks. "The hour is getting late. Let's finish up so we can rest for tomorrow's endeavors."

"You're right." Kaguya said and let go of him, gripping her training sword tighter. "But this time, I'm going to beat you!"

The two of them proceeded to spar and Kaguya was surprised how well-adjusted she was to Xander's training regime and that she was able to keep up with him. Though it felt like Xander was holding back which irritated her, yet kept sparring with him until her arms felt heavy and she could barely keep the sword holding in her hands.

"I guess we should stop here." Xander breathed out and lowered his sword which Kaguya does as well, nodding. "Thank you for training with me today as well, little princess."

"It's my pleasure. It was fun." She smiled and followed him to put away the training swords.

"Well, since the night is still very young, how about we have some tea together? Like in the old times." Xander asked and Kaguya agreed ecstatic, until now she had no chance to sit down and have a chat with her older brother. Walking towards the main hall, Kaguya could notice some of the Hoshidan soldiers following them just as Hinata and Hana turned up in the training hall with the pretense of training, but Kaguya has noticed them staring at her and Xander and now Orochi and Reina followed them.

They sat down by a table and have Felicia serve them tea and Kaguya praised her for not letting the tray fall down on the way to them which made her blush.

"I have tried to learn how to make tea by myself… but it turned into a mess. The same happened when I tried to cook." Kaguya let out an exasperated sigh as she stared at the tea in the cup she was holding.

"If you really wish to learn how to make tea or cook, I guess you just have to apply yourself. Skill comes with practice." Xander replied, a gentle look on his face but Kaguya sulked.

"I know, but it's just so difficult! And I want people enjoy my food just as I enjoy someone else's food."

"If you want, I can taste your next meal." Xander just seemed to try to cheer her up but when she remembered how Jakob has reacted when she tasted her food made her shake her head.

"No, no. Jakob almost threw up when he tried it and looked sick afterwards, I don't want to make you sick as well." She grimaced and cursed herself for not learning how to cook earlier as she could have made Xander a tasty meal he would be able to enjoy - but now she was just disappointing him. And it made her feel bad. She wanted to see his expression when he was eating something great she made. Trying to change the topic, Kaguya turned to ask him what he thought of the astral plane and the surprise that Lilith was actually a tiny dragon-like entity. As Kaguya told him how she got almost lost in the castle the first night she was there, she noticed Xander staring at her which made her stop.

"Is something wrong, Xander?"

"No, it's nothing. I'm just content we are able to talk with each other like this again. I have missed it… though I have hoped to be able to have some time alone with you." He looked over to the group of Hoshidans who almost seemed to surround them with an irritated look in his eyes. Kaguya agreed that she had missed talking to them and personally doesn't minded the Hoshidians to be with them, although she had wanted to be with him alone for a little bit as well.

"I have missed it as well as you. I have thought of you quite often when I was in Hoshido and wondered what you were doing at the moment. Sometimes I wished I could be with you, especially when feeling lonely." She replied and noticed him wincing lightly and he had a troubled expression on his face. Kaguya wondered what was happening, most notably because his ears have turned a deep shade of red.

"I… I am honored you thought of me like that. I hope you won't feel alone in the close future." He replied and reached over the table to put his hand over hers which has played with a spoon, his thumb stroking over her skin.

She hoped the same and wished that she would be able to have such chats with Xander in the future.

More time passed with the two of them talking and Kaguya started to feel tired, her eyes almost closed themselves and her head started to bob back and forth.

"Are you tired, Kaguya? We can stop if you want."

"No, I'm fine." Kaguya said stubbornly and straightened her body, but Xander saw through her. He stood up and grabbed her hand to pull her onto her feet, forcing her to follow him up to her room. She doesn't wanted to part with him and tried her best to seem awake, however Xander did not believe her due to knowing her well enough and so she was lying her bed sooner or later. She had said good-night to Xander already and stared at the flickering candlelight next to her on the night table, still feeling disappointed that the time she had with Xander passed quickly. She knew that the two of them had duties they needed to fulfill yet felt alone.

She tried to not think too much about it and blew out the candle, cuddling into her blanket closing her eyes.

The next morning Kaguya was woken up by loud voices outside of her room and grabbed her clothes to change into them, she has gotten used to change into her clothes by herself by now instead of letting Felicia and Flora do that and now started to feel embarrassed whenever Felicia tried to help. She quickly put on her change of clothes and rushed down to the courtyard. Her siblings and some of their subjects were already standing there and the spies who were sent out stood right in front of them.

"So what did you find out?" Ryoma spoke up upon seeing Kaguya joining them and she stepped between him and Xander who had been standing and glaring at each other for some reason.

"We have reports of a hooded figure - barely visible - moving around the Hoshidan capital. It seems like that person searches for something." One of the spies said and Kaguya frowned, it sounded familiar but she couldn't recall.

"I know who it is." Ryoma said with a displeased expression. "It was the one who started it all and killed Queen Mikoto. I thought we finished him off, but it seems like that wasn't enough."

"Is that person still there?" Hinoka asked and the spy nodded. "Then we should move out right away. If we won't catch them right now, we might never."

"It's not for us to decide. Kaguya is the one to decide when we will move out." Leo replied begrudgingly and received a glare from Hinoka.

"No, Hinoka is right. We should move out as fast as possible so we won't miss them." Kaguya replied with a small sigh. "But we shouldn't move in a huge group to not draw attention on us. Just a few will be enough."

They made a quick plan how to enter the capital without anyone seeing them and reach the capital before Kaguya picked a few of her allies to move out. Kaguya felt uncomfortable to return to the capital as it made her remember what had happened the day her mother died and that it was partially her own fault. Sometimes, she still saw her mother being struck and falling into her arms in front of her eyes when she was sleeping and it simply haunted her.

She was moving close to her older brothers and was led through a not much used passage to the town. The center of the capital was still destroyed, and Kaguya just now realized the buildings around were destroyed as well which she hadn't really noticed before. She swallowed her unease and followed the strategy which was splitting apart to draw out the enemy. Kaguya walked too close to the spot where her mother died for her comfort and bit her lower lip as her hand grabbed the hilt of Yato, feeling even more uneasy. This time, she had a feeling that she was watched from the shadows which caused her to look around, but there was no one. She knew she had to be more careful as their enemies were invisible at some times and she could be attacked every moment.

She stepped closer towards the destroyed Dawn Dragon in the middle of the plaza, the spot where Yato had appeared and heard a weird rustling sound behind her.

Turning around, the hooded figure appeared behind her with a sword similar to Ganglari trying to attack her. He was moving the blade dangerously close to her neck at the moment she turned around, but due to reacting fast she managed to dodge it and held her neck. Her head would have been severed, if she wouldn't have been fast enough.

But before anyone could attack him, he summoned a huge horde of Faceless to attack Kaguya's allies while he himself struck over and over at her, but she parried with her blade.

"You really want to defy Lord Anankos?" She heard him growl with a vicious smirk. "You are not strong enough to defeat him, you will never be strong enough. Lord Anankos is a god, a being beyond your measure. You should obey him… if you don't want to lose everything… and everyone you love."

Kaguya winced as the hooded figure started to mock her, most probably to irritate her but kept fighting as good as she could. His words started to grow more painful and it started to distraught her which swayed her attention from the fighting.

Yato was knocked out of her hand and landed on the ground next to her which made her stumble backwards and fell to the ground. It had been a shock for her to be suddenly knocked back and she wasn't fast enough to jump back on her feet and retreat from the spot so she would be supported by her allies, yet her muscles tensed for some reason and made her slow.

The hooded figure moved to strike her again, but was stopped by Xander and Ryoma jumping in to stop him from injuring her. They were about to attack him in return, but the figure disappeared just in that moment - and with him the Faceless.

"Are you all right, little princess?" Xander asked and reached out a hand to her. Kaguya nodded and put her hand in his, he then pulled her up on her feet and gave her back the Yato. She put it back to her sword hilt and took a look around if someone was seriously injured, but except of a few exhausted people nothing bad had happened.

Though they were to return to the astral plane soon after taking care of the trouble in the Hoshidan capital, Ryoma asked her if he could check on whether everything was fine within the kingdom and so Kaguya let her older brother go and speak with Yukimura. She stayed behind and stared at the destroyed statue in the middle of the plaza, wondering who that hooded figure was.

Soon, they returned to the astral plane and everyone was patched up by the healers, only Kaguya was standing outside leaned against the wall of the main hall and looked up to the sky. She was feeling down and hadn't been talking too much with her friends on the way back, she just wanted to know who that hooded person was and make sure that nothing will stand between her and Anankos - she just wanted her loved ones and everyone else in Nohr and Hoshido to live safely.

"Kaguya." She heard a voice call out her name and raised her head, Ryoma approached her with his face armor in his arm and rubbing the back of his neck. "Have you noticed something unusual while battling the hooded person?"

"No, not that I can recall. Why do you ask?"

"I just… the way he moved and his body shape… it seemed very familiar, but I can't remember where. I hoped you might have caught a glimpse of his face."

"No, I haven't. I'm sorry." She answered which led Ryoma to let out a disappointed sigh. He then told Kaguya to rest up as they would probably be moving out soon and returned to the main hall, most possibly to check on the others.

Kaguya decided to not think too much about the recent events and then went to the training hall, somehow imagining that Xander was going to be there. She had the strong urge to see him and so decided to go and check whether he was in the training hall again.

She had just stepped past the threshold of the door to the training hall when Xander raised his head.

"Ah, Kaguya. I've been waiting for you. I knew you'd turn up eventually."

"Oh… am I so predictable?" She muttered with a troubled expression, but then shook her head. "Oh well, shall we begin with another sparring round?"

She was about to move to the spot where the training swords were kept, but was stopped by Xander.

"Kaguya… Did you mean it when you said you prefer to hear what's on my mind the night before?"

"I meant it with all my heart." She told him and turned to look at her elder brother. He looked a little bit troubled and it seemed like he was searching for words, but then started to speak.

"I see… Well, I suppose I owe you the courtesy of explaining a thing or two. You were right about me taking out my anger at Father during my training. Sometimes being crown prince means following the king's orders no matter what. But there were times when I felt his commands crossed a line. Sometimes it didn't feel like he was trying to benefit the kingdom at all, just himself. Having to do things I didn't believe in weighed heavily on my heart. Now I'm wise enough and brave enough to stand up to Father. But back then... Those were the nights you spoke of, when I swung my blade like a wild beast." He looked almost ashamed of himself and Kaguya made a step towards him, her brows raised. She wanted to say something to soothe his conflicted feelings, but had no idea what at the moment. Instead, she simply muttered his name.

"I never thought I'd tell you that. I always tried to shield you from such things. A sword is a strange and beautiful thing... Sometimes just one swing of your blade can communicate more than a lifetime of words. Thank you for listening, Kaguya. Both to my blade back then and my words now."

"No need to thank me. I didn't do anything but listen. And pry." She let out a small giggle and it caused Xander to show her one of his unusual smiles.

"You did more than you know. It's thanks to you… that I don't feel alone anymore." He raised his hand and gently stroked over her cheek with the back of his hand which caused her to blush and her heart raced faster. The last time he had shown her such affectionate gestures was years ago, but it never excited her to be touched by him like right now. Feeling embarrassed, she turned her eyes away from him and one hand of hers cupped his on her cheek.

"Xander... It means the world to me to hear you say that. You saved me from my own loneliness when I was a child, locked away from the world... I'm so happy to finally repay the favor. It was always my dearest wish to do so. If you ever feel like talking, about anything, I'm always here for you." She emphasized and looked back in his eyes again, her face felt like it was burning and she had to fight the fluttering feeling in her stomach at his gentle expression.

"I don't wish for you to lose sleep over my troubles…"

"I've been losing sleep over you for years now." She giggled. "It's my favorite tradition."

"As you wish, Kaguya." He turned around his hand and grabbed her own, placing a small kiss on the back of it. "But I should tell you about my decision… after I saw the destruction in Hoshido, I realized that only more people will suffer at the dragon's hand. Not only in Hoshido - but also in Nohr. And many are already suffering because of Garon. So we should… take action."

"But that means… you will need to fight your father - even if he isn't him anymore. Are you all right with that?"

"Yes, even if I will have to deliver the final blow." Xander had a sad expression on his face and it pained Kaguya in her chest to see him like that. She knew he was very fond of his father and that saying that was not easy for him. Without losing any more words, her body moved on its own as she wrapped her arms around the center of his body and hid her face in his chest. She could feel him tense when she hugged him all of the sudden and only tightened her arms around him.

"I'm sorry, Xander. For forcing you to do this."

"It's fine." He promted. "But I'm almost surprised how I can only show my real feelings in front of you. You are the only one who does not expect anything from me and do not mind if I'm not the perfect prince people think of me."

"You can always relax with me." She insisted and looked up to him with a small smile. Xander smiled back and leaned in which made her heart beat even faster than it was which made her fear he could hear it. She was wondering what he was about to do, but he suddenly froze in his movement and then felt his soft lips on her forehead.

"Kaguya… will you hear me out once we return from the fight against Father? There is something I would like to tell you."

Kaguya was still feeling ecstatic at having received a kiss from him, so she only managed to nod.

"Of course."


	13. Chapter XII

**Chapter XII**

Days passed since they moved out of the astral plane to head to Castle Krakenburg where the fake King Garon was. They have just arrived in the capital, but it seems like they were already expected as they were attacked by Nohrian forces and Faceless on their way. King Garon's people seemed to have known that they were going to attack and so they weren't able to attack in surprise.

Due to this, they had to find a secret passage into the castle which Elise showed them with Kaguya wondering how often she had to snuck out of the castle to know the way out - without anyone realizing she was gone, no less.

They walked through the narrow passage, though Kaguya had troubled thoughts about the battle against King Garon and about what Xander might want to tell her after all the fighting. With King Garon gone, everyone will most probably loosen a bit though the real fight is ahead of them; though in the future as no one knew when exactly the portal will open. Not even Aria, who seemed to know everything.

The only thing the First Dragon had done to help them was cast a spell to make them see Garon's real appearance and let them move out, staying behind as she usually did.

Kaguya had only chosen a small group to infiltrate the castle this way and the rest would attack from outside, waiting for the gates to be opened for them.

The group fought their way through the castle and Kaguya was led to the spot where she could open the gates so the rest of the group could help them fighting.

Having been in Castle Krakenburg only once, Kaguya had no idea which hall she had to take to reach Garon and so was led there by Leo.

The doors to the throne hall opened with a loud creak and Kaguya stepped in first, expecting King Garon to sit on his throne but what she saw was not human anymore.

It looked like a dragon, with huge boney wings and several eyes on the head of which only a few were shining bright red.

There were several crushed bodies under the dragon, blood splattered on the ground and Kaguya needed a moment to realize that this was King Garon, or whatever has possessed him.

The dragon did not wait long and instead turned towards them and let out a breath rivulets of putrid air towards them which caught the first of them and knocked them to the ground. Seeing that, Kaguya knew right away that this would be no easy fight as the dragon charged at them and she jumped out of the way. She thought about changing into her dragon form as well, but that would only take away the fighting space for her allies. So she decided to fight with Yato instead and ducked away from the breath attacks to deliver a counterattack. She was not the only one to fight the dragon, as her allies fought him as well.

It wasn't even talking, just hissing and growling at them and trying to devour her with fangs at the ready for several times, but Kaguya stopped him every time - only her armor had seen better days as it got severely destroyed by his last attempt to bite her. Ignoring her injuries, she let her allies attack it in a circle to make it feel confused and jumped over the tail, climbing on the back and then rushed towards the head, raising Yato above her head and then pierced it through it's neck. The dragon let out a loud screech and threw Kaguya off the back, sliding over the ground and crashed against a pillar with her back.

She rolled on her stomach and propped herself on her elbows to look up, the dragon was letting out another roar but then fell to the ground and stopped moving.

Kaguya tried to calm her fast breathing and moved up on her feet with pain rushing through her back, but she ignored it and straightened herself. Her back felt sore, but she tried not to get too distracted by it. Instead, she moved to the dragon which had been beheaded by Xander, he still stood there with Siegfried in his hand and a serious expression. Kaguya did not need to ask how he felt, she could see it in his eyes.

"The deed is done." She heard one of her brother's vassals say, though did not turn to see who it was. Her back pained her and it felt like she has broken a few bones.

The dragon started to melt and disappeared by turning into water, dissipating in the ground.

The soldiers serving the fake Garon looked like they were waking from a long slumber and looked around, seemingly confused by seeing Hoshidans in the throne room. Xander put his sword back in the sword hilt and turned to look at the people in the room.

"Tell everyone that King Garon is dead! He was dead for years, replaced by a fake who tried to control Nohr and invade Hoshido!" He shouted to the men. "We shall not be reigned under him anymore!"

Kaguya heard the men around jeer and let out a small chuckle of relief, but pain shot through her body again and this time Elise noticed that and came running over to her, holding her staff in her hands and urged Kaguya to sit down so that she could heal her. Hearing her bones crack as they healed brought goosebumps on her skin and she shivered, the feeling wasn't pleasant either. She could literally feel her bones moving and growing back together and was more than happy when Elise finished healing her.

"What do you think will happen now?" Elise asked, sounding fearful when Kaguya stood up again and straightened her body.

"I guess Xander will have to pick someone to watch the kingdom while he is away. I guess he wants to be crowned king when everything is over." Kaguya said and watched the people around scatter, the men once following Garon surrounded Xander and Kaguya took a sad look at her armor. She will need a new one, considering that this one was ruined. Elise noticed her look and grabbed her hand to pull her to her room, calling a woman who turned out to be her personal maid. She brought Kaguya a black ruffled dress which she put on, but refused shoes and instead left the room to go to the main balcony she saw while on the way to the throne hall, deciding to get some fresh air.

She reached the balcony and touched the stone railing. It was cold and it felt like no one has came here for years and she leaned against it, looking below her. The layers of the town surrounding the castle shone back brightly at her and it made her feel like it was ages ago when she came here the last time - although it was just a bit more than half a year ago.

Right now she had to stay patient and wait until they will be able to defeat Anankos, although she had wished it would be over by now. But the Blighted Dragon was not their real enemy, it was the one hiding in the shadows.

"Lost in thoughts?" She heard a familiar voice and turned her head to look over her shoulder, Aria standing right behind her with an indifferent expression. Kaguya did not even ask how or when she got here.

"I was just thinking… about things."

"I understand. But I have to tell you; when you were out fighting the Blight Dragon I checked on the portal to Valla… and though it was stable before, it is getting unstable."

"And this means?"

"This means my little brother tries to close the entrance. I mean, he already managed to close the Dragon Gate so no one can travel to the Outrealms and the Deeprealms, practically trapping us in this world. So it might be that entering Valla will not go as smoothly as you might have thought." Aria explained and walked up next to her, leaning sideways on the railing with her eyes fixated on Kaguya. "...But not impossible, of course."

"I see." Kaguya gnawed on her bottom lip, but Aria shook her head.

"Don't concern yourself about it too much, he won't be able to seal if _completely._ For that, he lacks another person." Aria looked down at the layered town. "Nice kingdom, and your… _brother_ … is going to be king now. Hopefully a better than his father was."

"Xander will be a far better king than any before." Kaguya defended Xander which caused Aria to raise one brow.

"What I wanted to ask you before… what exactly do you think of him?"

"Well, he is a diligent prince and a wonderful brother on whom I can always rely." Kaguya replied with a confused expression. This caused Aria to let out a snort and Kaguya saw something akin to a small smirk forming on her aunt's lips, but it was gone in the next moment.

"No, it's not what I meant. I mean, everyone can see that you don't see him as a brother. And from what I could observe, you haven't thought of him as a brother for a long time." She hushed Kaguya when she opened her mouth to protest. "Now, let me speak. I know why you suppress your feelings and refuse to accept them; because you expect him to be your brother. But he isn't. You two are not related by blood, and nothing will stop you from having feelings for each other. Denying your feelings will only hurt you more and you will degrade and hate yourself for not accepting them when the time was right, for not giving in to the emotions you feel. You will be lonely, and most probably cry. You shouldn't let yourself feel like that. So I ask you… do you love Xander?"

Kaguya stared at her in surprise. Interestingly, Aria's words made her think.

She made a point in Kaguya feeling weird around Xander lately, more than ever before. And the part about her not thinking of Xander as her brother as true as well, in her heart she had long stopped thinking of him as her brother and she had knew he was not of her blood and it caused her to develop feelings for him.

It would explain everything. Why she was feeling nervous around him, why she felt this fluttering emotion in her stomach when he was near and why she wanted to touch him. Her racing heart and her face growing hot when he showed her affection.

Kaguya put a hand to her heart, feeling it pulsing fast and a faint smile drew across her lips.

"You… are right." She then said. "I love him… not like a brother, but like a woman loves a man."

"That's good you accepted it, better than… staying in the shadows." She replied, a sad look flashing on her face for a moment and Kaguya first thought she imagined it, but right now her emotionless face looked forced and she realized that Aria must be hiding her emotions behind a mask, but did not dare to ask. There were some things one should not ask the First Dragon.

"Yes…"

"But now, you should go and mingle with the others. They might want to hear what they need to do next." Aria said and patted Kaguya's blue hair before disappearing in a blinding light before the latter could even say anything. With a sigh Kaguya moved away from the railing and returned back to the main hall where her forces have gathered and was almost immediately occupied by her close friends. They asked her about a feast to celebrate their victory, but remembering that this had been the half of her siblings' father and that they had to accept he was gone now made her hesitate to agree. Instead, she said they were going to hold one later and then spoke with Azura about their next move. Azura agreed on Kaguya's decision to let the soldiers scout the cities and villages to eliminate all Faceless and Kaguya noticed that her cousin had a dreamy expression on her face.

"Are you all right?" She asked Azura, not used to see her looking like that.

"Hm… oh, yes." Azura looked back at her and Kaguya wondered where she was looking and turned her head to see Leo standing there, apparently having a competitive conversation with Takumi about something.

"Wait, are you…" She did not even got to finish the sentence when Azura almost jumped at her, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Hush! Don't be so loud! Not everyone needs to know."

"All right, all right." Kaguya laughed and pulled Azura's hands off her mouth. "But are you really in love with Leo?"

"W-Well, yes… and…" But Azura did not get to finish talking as a maid approached the two of them.

"Princess Kaguya, I have a note for you from Prince Xander." She held a folded piece of paper out to Kaguya who took it with a bewildered face and read what Xander has written. He requested her to come to his office as soon as possible, as he urgently needed to talk to her. Kaguya looked over to Azura who nodded, thus telling her to go see Xander and Kaguya asked the maid where Xander's office was.

With the help of the maid, she reached Xander's workplace and felt nervous thinking of being in a room with him but nonetheless raised her hand and knocked.

"Come in." She heard Xander's voice which made her heart jump and opened the door. Xander was sitting by an enormous desk, he has taken his armor off and was wearing a white shirt with wide sleeves and a dark purple vest. He wasn't wearing the hair circlet he once received from King Garon either. He smiled upon seeing her enter.

"Are you feeling all right, Xander?" Kaguya asked closing the door before approaching his desk and standing across of him, the furniture between them.

"Yes, please don't worry about me. I'm just sorry we are restrained here right now, but I need to find a temporary regent taking my place until I return… but finding someone trustworthy is not easy." He shook his head and put some documents he was taking a look at away, getting up from his chair.

"No, it's fine. If you need help, then just tell me." Kaguya said and felt herself blush. As she was aware of her feelings to him now, she felt self-conscious being around him though right now she simply wished to cuddle against his chest.

"No, this is something I have to do myself if I want to be a good king. But I should thank you for heeding my request to meet."

"Sure thing, but your note said it was urgent… is everything really fine?"

"Yes, it's something I have wanted to talk with you about before… alas, first I need to ask you something. What do you think of me?" Xander looked uncomfortable asking this, and Kaguya was reminded of Aria asking her that. However, she knew she had to be more honest with Xander.

"I'm not sure what you mean…"

"I know this is out of the blue, but I need to know. Please answer truthfully."

"All right, if it means that much of you." Kaguya took a deep breath. "You're someone I admire. Someone strong and wise and noble. You're the rock of the family, someone we can all depend and look up to. You taught me about courage and about the sword, as well as about right and wrong. I was sad when first found out we aren't truly brother and sister… I was always proud to be the little sister of the finest prince there ever was."

"Thank you, Kaguya." Xander looked almost embarrassed. "I am honored by your kind words. Though, to be honest, I feel the exact opposite in one respect."

"Oh?" Kaguya felt her heart sink.

"I am overjoyed we are not brother and sister."

Kaguya felt her heart stop, ice seemed to shoot through her veins and she looked down. Though a part of her was happy that he doesn't see her as a sister, it still made her feel down. She had a feeling that she disappointed him.

"I guess I wasn't a very good sister…"

"Please don't misunderstand me." Xander took a step closer and put one hand on her shoulder and the other under her chin to force her to look at him. His warm gaze made her feel flustered, but she did not avert her eyes. "I meant that in the best way possible."

"What way is that?"

"My dear Kaguya… you said that I taught you about courage and about the sword. But… I wish to teach you about much more than that. I wish to teach you about love… and it's why I want to give you this." He grabbed her hand and placed an ornate ring in her palm.

"Is… is that a ring?!" She asked and her heart started to hammer in her chest, her face growing bright red as she inspected the ring. It was a black one with the crest of the Nohrian family in the middle.

"Dearest... Kaguya. You are the most precious person in the world to me, and have been for quite some time. Would you do me the honor of being my wife?" Xander was blushing very faintly, barely visible and had a hopeful look in his eyes.

"I… your wife? But Xander, what will the others say…?" She asked. She would love to shout that she will be his wife and hug him, but as others still believed they thought of each other as siblings, their relationship might grow complicated.

"Let them say what they will. I wish to protect you for the rest of my days. I haven't seen you as a sibling but rather a woman for such a long time… a woman I absolutely adore. Please say you'll stay by my side, now and forever." He raised his hands and gently cupped her cheeks, his thumbs softly stroking over her soft skin.

"Xander…" Kaguya whispered with a flushed face, but a smile on her lips. "Of course I will marry you! I'm so happy I don't know what to say…" Kaguya was interrupted by soft lips descending on hers and she let out a surprised sound, but relaxed after a moment and closed her eyes to return the kiss. She felt his strong arms wrap around her and pulled her closer to his chest, kissing her more roughly until she went out of breath.

"Everyone will be so surprised… they may even object at first." Kaguya tried to catch her breath once he pulled away, but Xander only smirked.

"Worry not. In the end, I'm certain everyone will understand. After all, our marriage won't only benefit our future happiness… I believe it will also have a positive effect on our beloved kingdom as well." He took the ring in Kaguya's hand and slid it on her ring finger, his lips gently stroking over hers.

"You're right, as ever. Besides, what matters most is that we'll finally be together." Kaguya giggled, this time cuddling against him and buried her face in the crook of his neck and Xander's arms around her tightened.

"I can't wait to spend my life with you, little princess. I have so much to tell you… you were cooped up so long. I wish to show you the whole world." He whispered and Kaguya smiled at his gentle words.

"I can't wait. Thank you, dear Xander." She raised her face and Xander once again leaned in, his lips pressing against hers.

Music was playing loudly, the people were sitting in small groups around tables or dancing. Everyone was having a good time, celebrating the small wedding with the newlywed couple who were sitting by the end of the table together and drinking wine.

"I'm glad to have you finally as my wife. And to have convinced your brother to give us his blessings." Xander said and raised one hand to stroke a lost streak of her azure hair behind her ear. Kaguya giggled as she nipped on the wine, looking into the cup filled with the red liquid.

"Well, he got Camilla in return so maybe it's not such a bad bargain." Kaguya had found it funny that when Xander went to ask for Ryoma's blessings for their marriage, Ryoma had actually searched Xander to ask for the same for his marriage to Camilla.

"You make it sound like I bought you with a sister of mine, dear." Xander sighed heavily, but looked amused for a reason. "But it seems like we are not the only ones getting married. Many of our friends and allies are preparing for marriage as well."

"Yes, though I am happy that those from Hoshido do not mind marrying someone from Nohr."

"Indeed, it is a miracle. A miracle we owe to you, as you were the one who brought us all together." Xander grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly, his other hand grabbing his cup which was still standing on the table and emptied it.

Xander and Kaguya's wedding feast was a little one, with only their family and closest friends attending and was held in the castle in the astral plane, the main hall nicely decorated. Xander had insisted on being wed to Kaguya during the war against Anankos, as no one knows if everyone will survive the battle. Kaguya had nothing against being wed to him during the war, and she did not mind the small ceremony, but Xander has told her they will have a bigger ceremony after the war - when the two of them will be crowned king and queen of Nohr.

"Nonetheless, it is getting late. Shall we return to our chambers?" Xander then asked, smiling a mischievous smile which she had never seen him doing before and her face grew hot realizing what he meant.

"If you wish to." She said and took the hand he was holding out to her, following him to their chambers. On their way there Xander suddenly reached down and scooped her up into her arms which caused her to blush and she let out a surprised yelp.

"I love you, truly. I have been holding back from telling you for so long… but you are my precious wife now. It's my honor and duty to keep you safe, at all costs." Xander whispered in her ear and Kaguya smiled wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I love you, too, Xander. Forever."


	14. Chapter XIII

**Chapter XIII**

A few weeks have passed since Kaguya wed Xander and she was sitting in the war council, though she did not listen. Lately, she had started to feel drowsy and sick which led her to stay in bed longer than she should. She was told that she doesn't needed to attend the council, but Kaguya insisted though she wished she hadn't.

Her stomach seemed to turn as the others discussed what to do with the towns which were overrun with Faceless and she had to hold back from throwing up.

She couldn't be sick and she had no idea what might cause her illness. She had thought about telling others about her condition, but she doesn't wanted anyone to know and so stayed quiet.

Once the council was over Kaguya decided to go and rest up for a while, but was accompanied by her retainers Kaze and Jakob as they feared she might collapse every moment.

Her bed looked inviting as Kaguya fell onto the mattress, a movement that made her feel even worse and she whimpered. She was already feeling weak from not being able to eat properly lately - except of a weird craving for citrus fruits - and now sudden movements were making her feel even weaker.

Moving slowly, she grabbed the blanket and pulled it over her. She couldn't afford to be sick at such a time and had to grow better.

She felt bad for making others worry about her, especially Xander who looked like he doesn't wanted to leave her side when he got up every morning and she curled into a ball under the blanket, tearing up as she grew dizzy.

She knew that wishing away the condition won't help her, but she couldn't help but to wish she was feeling well. Her head was spinning and she was feeling feverish and she sniffed, hoping it would pass if she rested well enough.

She had just closed her eyes and tried to calm herself by saying it wasn't anything bad when she heard the door open, but did not dare to raise her head.

"Not feeling well?" It was Aria's voice and Kaguya pulled down her blanket a bit to look at her aunt who stood in the doorway and stared at her.

"I… it's all right."

"It's obviously not. The color on your face changes from white to green constantly." Aria walked up to her and sat down on the mattress next to her, reaching out her hand and putting it on Kaguya's forehead. Aria's hand was cool and Kaguya closed her eyes, relaxing a bit.

"I… I admit, I don't feel too good. I'm nauseous almost all the time and I don't want the others to be worried."

"And yet, they worry." Aria sighed. "Come, tell me about your symptoms. Maybe I'll know what's wrong."

Kaguya listed how she was feeling lately and that her eating habits had changed as well which made Aria smile faintly.

"I see. Well, that explains a lot." Aria reached out and pulled the blanket away, putting her hand on Kaguya's stomach which confused the latter. She looked up to Aria who looked thoroughly amused.

"W-what does it explain?"

"You should have already noticed it, considering how your belly has grown." Aria answered and stroked over Kaguya's stomach before taking her hand away which caused Kaguya to look down. Of course she had noticed that her stomach has grown a bit, but she expected to just have gained weight. Though this seemed weird, as she hadn't eaten anything lately. Her mind tried to process her thoughts, but then her eyes grew bigger and she stared at her aunt.

"It can't be… can it?"

"Of course. How do you want to explain it otherwise than suffering from morning sickness." Aria said and Kaguya gasped, her hand moving to her stomach and touched it. Though not visible if one was looking at it, she could feel the small bulge under her fingers and her heart jumped.

"B...but… it's not good to have a child during a war." She said, panicking and sat up though the movement made her feel sick again.

"It's not, considering that you are the leader and have to fight - which you should better not do while pregnant - but whole generations have been born during wars. And it's considered a good sign when a child was conceived during the wedding night." Aria answered and Kaguya felt her cheeks grow hot. "But you know, your stomach is quite big for being in the early stages of pregnancy."

"And that means?"

"You might be carrying two children, but who knows?" Aria got up on her feet, ignoring Kaguya's shocked expression, and stroked over Kaguya's head. "I reckon you should tell your husband about him going to be a father."

"Y...yes…" Kaguya muttered and swung her legs over the edge of the mattress, her eyes lingering on her stomach. It seemed impossible to her being pregnant, but Aria and her slightly bulging belly were saying other things.

She ignored her nausea and got up from the bed, deciding to search for Xander. Lately, he was often training with the other soldiers or working through documents in the office next to their bedroom. She walked to the adjacent room, but her husband wasn't there so she walked down to the courtyard.

She was not very disturbed by the fact that she was going to be a mother, but rather that she has go give birth to her child - or children, if Aria was right - during the war against Anankos. The one who would be most happy about it would be most probably Camilla who was pregnant as well. It almost felt like her friends were using the time until the sky over Nohr and Hoshido will change to get married or have children. Kaguya had nothing against it, but she would rather had children when the war was over than during one. Not that she could change it, and she felt rather happy knowing Xander's children are growing within her - although the thought of having twins made her feel slightly nervous.

Kaguya moved over the courtyard and greeted some of her friends back who were waving at her and told them she was feeling fine when they inquired whether she was feeling better. She passed the Dawn Dragon statue and to the training grounds which the soldiers use to improve their fighting, though today it only were Xander and Ryoma sparring with their retainers watching them. It was funny seeing Xander's retainers cheering on their liege while Ryoma's were keeping quiet - not that Kaguya expected the grumpy ninjas to do that.

Kaguya leaned against the wall of the training hall and watched Xander and Ryoma spar, the two of them obviously having a better relationship than weeks back when they joined Kaguya's cause. After Kaguya married Xander they seemed to have became friends of sorts and she often saw them together during the day. Maybe it had something to do with them being family now.

Xander seemed to notice Kaguya standing there, as he glanced over to her and a small smile flashed on his lips before he turned his attention back to Ryoma.

She watched her brother and husband in their mock fight and grew a bit sentimental thinking she won't be able to fight for a long time. She might not be the most enthusiastic about fighting, but she was scared she might grow weaker during the next few months.

Kaguya intended to tell her beloved about her pregnancy first, but then she wanted to find Camilla and Aria and ask her what she should do and what she should eat while pregnant. She was aware there were some things she should take care of to not endanger her unborn children.

Xander soon finished his training with Ryoma and went to his wife, wiping sweat off his forehead.

"You did great." Kaguya said with a smile and squeezed his hand which she had taken hold of a moment before. "I guess you were at it for a long time."

"I never notice the time when I'm sparring. I'm sorry if it had bored you."

"No, not at all. It was actually quite fun." She answered and followed Xander outside where he was catching some fresh air and cooled down.

"That's good to hear. But more importantly, are you feeling better now?" He asked with a concerned expression, raising a hand to stroke over her cheek with the back of his hand.

"Yes, I'm sorry to have worried you." Kaguya answered and put her hand over his with a gentle expression, but Xander shook his head.

"Let me worry about you a little." He answered and leaned in to press his lips against hers for a moment. Kaguya giggled and cuddled against him, specially pressing her belly against him to check if he was noticing anything abnormal about her. Sadly, he did not notice her having a slightly larger belly and sighed pulling away from him to tell him about the two of them going to be parents.

"Uhm, Xander… there's something I have to tell you, actually." She said and looked up to him, with him still having his arms around her.

"What's wrong, dear?"

"I… well, there's a reason for my feeling so bad the past few days. It's… we are going to be parents." She said breathlessly, her eyes staring directly into Xander's eyes. She could feel his muscles tensing and Xander's face was without any emotion on his face. Kaguya was wondering whether he was all right and was about to ask him, but Xander's arms tensed around her when he pulled her into a bear hug and she heard him let out a breathless chuckle.

"I can't believe it… you're having my child…" He sounded like he couldn't believe what she has told him and his hand moved to her belly, softly touching it. "Heh, your belly has grown already."

"Well, according to Aria we might be having twins." She told him which made Xander look at her in shock, but then he let out a chuckle of disbelief.

"This is wonderful, dear… I can't believe I'm going to be a father of two. And it's more perfect that we will have children together - even though I would have prefered them to be born during a more peaceful time." Kaguya could feel his thumb stroking over her belly in a loving manner which brought tears to her eyes and she hugged her husband who also wrapped his arms around her and stroked over her head. It made her feel ecstatic that he was this happy about having children and was wondering why she was afraid of telling him about the twins.

"But… shouldn't you be resting? I can imagine that it must be exhausting to stand around so much." He said after a while, looking worried and Kaguya giggled.

"No, it's all right. I just feel a bit nauseous, but that lasts for quite some time now."

However, Xander insisted on her sitting down and so led her to the main hall and refused to leave her alone. He seemed to be worried due to her being wobbly on her legs as Kaguya couldn't eat properly in the past few days. But even smelling food was making her sick, so she only chose to eat some citrus fruits while they were eating with the others, making some of her friends realize that Kaguya was pregnant and just as she had predicted, Camilla was overjoyed hearing that she was having children as well.

She later told her friends that she was going to have children and almost everyone told her to not try and fight with them which made her laugh.

Weeks passed by and Kaguya's condition grew better just as her belly grew bigger. It made her feel uncomfortable to not being able to see her feet when she was walking and stairs proved to be a difficult challenge. She had already tripped and nearly fell once - if Kaze wouldn't have caught her by appearing from the shadows all of the sudden. Kaguya couldn't do much during the day, her movements a bit restricted and so mostly went on walks on the castle grounds or was sitting somewhere nice and watching the scenery or reading a book. Or practicing her tactical prowess with Aria's help, since she was a greater tactician than she had expected. She was sitting in the castle garden by a table with a board of chess in front of her and Aria sitting on the opposite side, enjoying the warmth of the sun.

"You know, you could do it better if you would concentrate on your task." Aria sighed. "You want me to help you with that as there were things you can't improve with practicing with Leo - but you are lazing around here. The sun won't disappear all of the sudden if you stop enjoying it."

"I can't help it. I had been sitting around in my room a lot lately and am just glad to be outside." She answered, but that was only the half-truth. They have received a report of Faceless attacking the Nohrian capital and so Xander and a group of their friends moved out to suppress the forces and she was worried. She hoped everything was going to be fine and that her husband will return to her safely. This is what bugged her most about not being able to fight, she was not able to fight by her husband's side and make sure he was safe.

Aria seemed to look right through Kaguya's lie and shook her head, wiping back a loose streak of her long hair.

"Xander is going to be fine, don't worry. Worry about your troops on the chess board instead. Otherwise, they are going to be wiped out."

"All right, all right. Now let's see…" Kaguya decided to turn her attention to the board in front of her, one hand reaching out to the chess pieces while the other was resting on her enlarged belly. Lately, she had started to feel something akin to wriggling in her stomach which made her think that her babies must be moving around. She was waiting for them starting to move properly and was looking forwards to it. Xander had already asked her about choosing names for the children, but she had a hard time choosing fitting names, considering they need two boy names and two girl names. Though Aria could have told her that she was expecting twins, she couldn't tell her whether it were boys or girls or both. Kaguya was just moving a chess piece when she felt a sudden movement in her belly which caused her to jump. She looked down at her stomach and put her hand to the spot where she had felt one of them kick her.

"What, did you just got kicked by your child?"

"I… it was so sudden, I didn't really recognized it as a kick." She answered with a smile, her hand stroking over her stomach.

"Yes, it is always nice feeling the first movements. Soon you will have a feeling like they are dancing in you." Aria shrugged, her hand moving to have the board prepared for another tactical practice, but stopped. "Oh, they returned."

"Really?" Kaguya nearly jumped on her feet but remembered she was not allowed to so she just got up and hurried to the main gate to greet those who returned from the fighting. Thankfully, it seemed like no one was hurt seriously and the mission was a success.

Kaguya spotted her husband as he dismounted his horse and walked over to him with a bright smile.

"Welcome back!" She exclaimed and threw herself in his arms. It seemed to have surprised him, as he abruptly moved his arms forwards to catch her.

"You shouldn't be running around like that." Xander reprimanded his wife gently, but squeezed his arms around her. "But... I'm back."

"It's fine, I wasn't running. Just walking really fast." She answered and looked up to him. "I'm just glad to see you return safely."

"I told you I would return, didn't I? Besides, I wouldn't leave you all alone." He stroked over her hair and then his hand went to her stomach which was forcing them apart for a bit. "Did the two of them behave?"

"Apart from starting to kick me, they did."

"Oh, did they, now." A small smile appeared on Xander's lips and he caressed her belly, Kaguya had a feeling that he hoped to feel a movement but the babies seemed to have fallen asleep as none of them moved. Xander led Kaguya to a nearby bench and made her sit down. She inquired about the mission and Xander told her that the Faceless were driven out of the city - but the threat still remains. Faceless are lurking in the corners of the countries and no matter what they did, it didn't seem to grow less.

"I hope it will be over soon." Kaguya sighed and leaned back against Xander's shoulder with the latter putting his arm around her and his free hand on her enlarged stomach, stroking it tenderly with his thumb.

"I hope so, too…" He replied and shook his head. "But my love, did you thought about the names I suggested for our children?"

"I sure did… though I am surprised you want to call the son we might have similar to your sword." Kaguya let out a small giggle which seemed to fluster him.

"W...well, I think Siegbert is a nice name." He defended himself. "And Vivianne… I have read that name once in a novel whose heroine impressed me, so I guess the name just stuck."

"Heh, it's fine, Xander. I like the names. And the other two you suggested as well." She answered with an amused smile, wincing when she felt two abrupt movements in her belly which she still wasn't used to. Kaguya first took a look down before back to Xander who was looking at her baby bump in fascination.

"They moved…"

"Yes, it seems like they like the names." An expression of bliss flashed on Kaguya's face and cuddled up to her husband who was muttering promises to keep her and the twins safe, no matter what.

Their days grew even more chaotic, with Kaguya deploying the troops more often as more Faceless are sighted with her concluding that Anankos must be getting impatient and was frustrated he couldn't enter the astral plane to kill them all.

However, during one day when all the soldiers had been moved out Kaguya was having a very bad feeling the entire day. Though she was told to rest in bed as much as possible and to not overexert her body, she ignored the healers' advice and was taking a stroll around the courtyard of the astral castle, Felicia and Jakob following her from a safe distance at Xander's order - though he did not need to tell those two to do that as they would do it on their own.

She was thinking about the time her children might be born; after all, nine months have gone by and they might come every day. She was lost deep in thoughts as she heard Camilla call her name; her sister-in-law was sitting in the garden some of their friends had taken care of and was cradling her little son in her arms, a boy who was looking very similar to Ryoma but with Camilla's purple hair. Shiro was sleeping in Camilla's arms, his head resting against her chest.

"You shouldn't be walking around, darling." Camilla said with a concerned expression, but Kaguya shook her head.

"I needed some fresh air and a change of scenery. I had enough bed rest in the past few days." Kaguya slowly sat down next to Camilla and smiled seeing Shiro's sleeping face. Her own children seemed to not sleep, as it felt like they were dancing wildly in her stomach.

"But it would be better if you stayed in your room, considering that they could come every day." Camilla was still worried and Kaguya shook her head, telling her that everything will be fine. They then chatted about several topics and laughed at their friends and families' interactions with each other when a scent similar to Faceless passed Kaguya. Her heart stopped and she raised her head to look around, though she couldn't see anything.

"Is something wrong, honey?"

"I smell Faceless…" She muttered and got up from the bench, still looking around. Camilla opened her mouth, probably to tell Kaguya that the castle was secured and wouldn't be attacked by Anankos' servants - but it was the opposite.

She could hear some soldiers screaming that they are attacked by Faceless and Camilla jumped on her feet, gripping Shiro tighter in her arms.

"W-what?! Now, of all the times?!" She said, looking over to Kaguya who held her belly and cursed the Faceless for arriving at the moment the soldiers were out.

"We have to get you to safety, Kaguya. Come." Camilla said and helped Kaguya to move towards the castle as the remaining soldiers were fighting the Faceless, a huge horde of them trying to get into the courtyard.

Kaguya winced as she felt slight pain radiating from her stomach, it was stressful for her to avoid the Faceless with Camilla and she was biting her bottom lip. She needed to get to safety, she couldn't endanger her children.

However, as they stepped closer to the castle more Faceless appeared and were slowly surrounding her. Jakob and Felicia rushed to help Camilla - who was using magic - to defend Kaguya. The latter was trying to dodge any magical attack, but the last one made her trip and she fell backwards. Just as she hit the ground she heard something snap and terrible pain radiated from her belly which made her vision blurry for a moment and felt something cold and wet hit her legs and she screamed in pain gripping her stomach.

"Lady Kaguya!"

"Jakob, bring her to the medical chamber!"

Kaguya could barely hear their voices as she let out a shriek when another wave of pain shot raw through her body and she curled up on the ground, her fingers clawing in the fabric of her dress on her stomach.

"M-Milady, what's wr…"

"She's in labor! Quickly!"

Kaguya couldn't even make out who was talking and tears ran down her cheeks when someone scooped her up, probably Jakob, and her vision was darkening. She could barely think because of the pain and the babies in her moved violently.

"She's bleeding too much!"

"Something's wrong, Lady Camilla! She doesn't responds when we talk to her!"

Kaguya could feel that something was wrong, the world around her was blurry and slowly growing darker and the pain was unbearable. She could barely move and couldn't hear properly, smelling nothing than the iron scent of blood.

Fear washed over her, though she was more scared what might happen to her children than herself as everything went black.


	15. Chapter XIV

**Chapter XIV**

The main troops of the army were returning from a siege against the Faceless in Cheve where they successfully fought back the Faceless and were returning to the astral plane, though Xander's heart was filled with worry.

The informant arriving a few minutes prior told them about their castle being attacked by Faceless, but Xander was more worried about what he had told him.

During the attack Kaguya went into labor and started giving birth to the twins which made his steps faster as he rushed through the gates, ignoring everyone else. He was about to move to the master bedroom, but was stopped by a maid who told him Kaguya was in the medical chamber which made him worry even more. The situation must be far worse if Kaguya was brought there, as all the special equipment were stored there.

He turned on his heel and ran to the medical chamber, hearing loud voices as he moved closer and found Camilla outside, crying and looking thoroughly shocked.

"Camilla!"

"Xander! You're finally here!" She said and clutched to his arm with tear-stained cheeks. "You have to get inside and try to talk with her!"

"W-what is happening?" His voice trembled, though he tried his best to not show any emotion on his face while a turmoil of emotions raged in his heart.

"Kaguya's… she stopped responding… she's losing too much blood… it doesn't look good." Camilla's voice trembled so much, she was barely able to speak as the words left her lips and Xander's muscles tensed.

 _It doesn't look good._

He knew exactly what it meant. Of all the things that could have happened, Kaguya was dying of childbirth.

Xander left Camilla standing where she was and opened the door, stepping into the room. The first thing that he noticed was the smell of blood filling the room.

Then he saw Kaguya, motionlessly lying on the bed with her eyes partly closed and a pale face surrounded by healers.

"Kaguya!" Xander's voice rang out once he saw his wife and rushed to her side, his hand grabbing hers and noticing in shock how cold it was. "What's going on here?!"  
"There seem to be some kind of complications, Milord. She is bleeding far too much and does not respond when we speak to her. If this will continue, we will have to cut Lady Kaguya open or the children will suffocate within her." A nearby healer told him and cold sweat ran down his back as he unconsciously gripped Kaguya's hand tighter.  
"It can't be..." He muttered, his heart felt like plunged in ice water when he thought about the possible death of his wife or children or both. He had spent years longing for her, only to lose her and the proof of their love now?  
His mind reeled to find a solution, the mages here were certainly not experienced enough to save a dying person, but he knew who exactly could help them.  
"I'm going to be right back, dear. Don't worry. Everything's going be fine." He said, looking at Kaguya who probably did not hear him, her eyes still out of focus and rushed out of the room. He hoped that the person he was seeking out was in the castle or somewhere near and did not move somewhere else - wherever she was always going.

His feet moved faster than ever before as Xander frantically searched for Aria, the person he had long believed to be Kaguya's imaginary friend.

Finally, he found the First Dragon sitting next to the altar in the little chapel in the castle, lost deep in thoughts as she remembered holding a little baby girl in her arms and a heavy feeling in her chest.

"Xander." She said, not even looking up as the Nohrian crown prince entered the chapel.

"Aria, you have to come." He said out of breath, his heart clenching in his chest as his thoughts went to his beloved. "Kaguya's… her condition is decreasing and if we won't do anything against it, either she or the twins are going to die - or even both!"

Aria did not respond, but only shot Xander an apologizing glance.

"I can't." She said after a moment and Xander felt his blood growing cold.

"W-what?"

"I have limitations to me stepping in. I can't save dying people, it is their fate to die."

"You can not be serious! She's your niece!"

"Yes. And Garon was your father, and yet he has allowed so many of his children die." Aria responded as Xander grew more desperate. Aria was the only one who might save Kaguya, he couldn't think of anyone else and she stayed stubborn no matter what Xander was saying. He remembered Kaguya once telling him that Aria had a child many years back and so gritted his teeth.

"If Kaguya would be your daughter, would you still let her die and never get to see her again or her ever seeing the faces of her children?!"

This seemed to hit a nerve as Aria winced and looked at Xander with a glare and he knew her answer, but she did not move or say anything. He could hear the commotion in the castle growing louder and heard people saying that Kaguya might die in the next few moments. He clenched his fists and looked down on his feet. He had to swallow his pride and stepped closer to Aria who winced, apparently not expecting him to move closer.

Xander did not care if anything would see her as he fell to his knees and bowed to Aria on the ground, his nose almost touching the ground and heard a small surprised gasp escape Aria's mouth.

"Please, I beg you. I can't live without Kaguya and I would lose my mind if she or our children will die. I wanted to do so much with them as soon as the war would be over and if they will pass away… the war might never come to an end and they are never going to be able to see a peaceful time…" His words came out in sobs, he did not care to show Aria his emotions as he would do anything if it meant his wife and children would live.

"Xander…" Aria muttered, but then let out a heavy sigh. She stepped to him and raised his head so that he would look at her. "If I save Kaguya and the twins, the spell will need compensation. I might not know what, but it can be anything."

"I… If it will make Kaguya live, I will risk it." He said with gritted teeth and Aria nodded.

"Good. If you are willing to go so far, let's go."

Xander jumped to his feet and moved after Aria who was rushing to the medical chamber where the scent of blood has grown heavier and the healers looked like they did not know what to do anymore. Aria pushed some of them away, some moved away as soon as she arrived and she took a look at Kaguya. Her face has started to grow gray and Aria put one hand on Kaguya's forehead, wet from cold sweat and her belly.

"The children have grown weaker due to Kaguya dying. But I can fix that…" Aria muttered to herself and pale blue light surrounded her hands and spread through Kaguya's entire body. Aria was muttering ancient words under her breath and the color in Kaguya's face was returning and she suddenly took a deep breath, like someone who was drowning and finally got to breath before letting out a small shriek of pain.

"Kaguya?!" Xander tackled some healers away and grasped his wife's hand who squeezed back.

"Push, Kaguya." Aria said, her hand still on Kaguya's forehead and belly. Kaguya did not seem to respond to them, but she seemed to hear what they were saying and it looked like she was partly unconscious.

A shudder went through Kaguya's body and she screamed as she had a feeling something was turning her insides upside down. She could hear people around her shouting and saying things though she barely heard them and her sight was extremely blurry, her body seemed to have regained energy for some reason, although it was still wrecked in pain and she soon heard two high-pitched screams.

Those were babies screaming.

Kaguya did not need to see to know that it were her children screaming and forced herself to wake up, she wanted to see them.

But before she could even force herself to move, she blacked out.

After what felt like an eternity, Kaguya woke up in her bedroom. She was disoriented at first, wanting to know what has happened but when she moved her body jolted in pain.

"Urgh." Her body felt extremely sore and her hand immediately flew to her stomach, but she remembered she had given birth to her twins.

She scanned the room, but the crib she had prepared for the children was empty. She wanted to see them and know where they were, so she ignored the pain and swung her legs over the edge of the mattress and was about to get up when the door opened and Xander stepped in.

"Kaguya!" He gasped and moved towards her, her only showing her husband a faint smile.

"Xander, it's good to..." However, she couldn't finish her sentence as Xander flung his arms gently around her and pulled her close to him. His was trembling and Kaguya understood he had been afraid during the birth so she put her arms around him as well and softly squeezed him.

"I'm so glad to see you are up. I was fearing you might die…" He whispered and pulled away. Kaguya noticed he was having dark circles under his eyes and his face was pale.

"I won't die so easily." Kaguya smiled and stroked with her thumb over the darkened skin under his eyes. "Haven't you slept? You look exhausted."

"I couldn't, not knowing when you would wake up." He answered and cupped her cheeks, his hands moving to her hair and leaned in to press a kiss to her lips. Kaguya returned the kiss and it grew more passionate which caused Xander to quickly pull away.

"But I'm happy to see you are fine. We all need you, though the twins and I more than the others." Xander showed her a little smile and Kaguya winced, remembering she wanted to see her children.

"Where are they?"

"The wetnurses are taking care of them. But you don't need to worry, they are a healthy boy and girl." Xander said and stroked back a streak of Kaguya's hair whose heart jumped.

"Boy and girl… which one was born first?" She asked, her eyes glinting in anticipation which made Xander smile. He smiled far more than before, but Kaguya believed it might be because everything has gone well.

"Siegbert was. Vivianne came just a few moments after him."

"I'd like to see them." Kaguya felt elated to meet her babies and was about to get up, but was scooped into Xander's arms which led Kaguya to yelp in surprise.

"X-Xander?"

"You shouldn't be walking around too much yet. I'm going to bring you to them."

"B-but that's embarrassing…" Kaguya muttered and felt her face grow hot which made Xander chuckle quietly.

"You didn't seem to mind when we were wed."

"T-that was something else." She blushed even more and hid her face in the crook of his neck, moving her arms around his neck. She noticed Xander was holding her tighter in his arms than he did ever before and wondered what has happened at the time of the birth. She could recall nothing than hushed voices and her babies screaming. She didn't get to see them as she had blacked out. That, and a sudden energy rush which had made her feel more alive.

They came across a few of their friends who were congratulating them on the birth of their twins and happy to see Vivianne feeling well.

Xander let Kaguya back on her feet when they reached the chamber where the wetnurses were with the twins and opened the door for her.

However, it were not wetnurses that greeted them with the twins in their arms but Elise and Sakura who each held a small bundle of blankets and chatted with each other.

"Big sister!" Elise shouted as she saw Kaguya and was about to rush towards her, but was told by Sakura to not pounce around with the child in her arms which made Elise giggle.

"I would never drop my little nephew!"

"You would like to see your children, right big sister?" Sakura stepped up to Kaguya whose legs felt weak and thus was supported by Xander, him having put an arm around her waist. The two girls come up to them and show Kaguya the faces of her twins. They looked exactly the same, pale round faces that looked squishy and azure blue hair was peeking out of their bonnets. They both looked very similar to Xander and Kaguya wished she could see their eyes which were closed as both were sleeping.

"Cute." Kaguya muttered and teared up, she reached out to Vivianne in Sakura's arms. Actually, she wished to hold them both at the same time but was too scared she might accidentally drop one of them. Sakura smiled and put Vivianne in Kaguya's arms while Xander took Siegbert and held him close to Kaguya while supporting her and Vivianne in her arms. This way it certainly felt like she was holding them both and Kaguya lovingly gazed at her babies who seemed to have a pleasant slumber.

Though both of them were dressed in pink and blue respectively - probably so they could be told apart - but Kaguya was able to see which one was who.

"Thank you." Xander muttered, his lips against her ear. "For giving me such beautiful children."

She could feel him press a kiss to her temple and giggled, her eyes still fixated on the children in her arms.

"With Xander's help, she was lead to a nearby couch where she could sit down and keep admiring her children, not even noticing her sisters leaving the room.

"They look like you." She muttered after a while and Xander let out a small chuckle.

"I see more of you in them than me. Especially around their eyes, and their hair color, obviously." Xander's lips skimmed over her temple. "But I'm glad you three managed to come through. It would be the end of me if I would have lost you and the twins."

Kaguya could hear the pain in his voice and her chest tightened in pain. She has never wanted to worry him and thus felt guilty because of it.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you so much. You must have felt incredibly terrible thinking I'm going to die… you must have lost so much sleep." She raised her hand and stroked with her thumb over the dark circles under his eyes, but he simply shook his head.

"Don't apologize. I'm just glad to see you well." He looked back to Siegbert in his arms, touching his son's small hand with his index finger so that the boy grabbed it. "I promise, I'll protect you and our children with my life."

"Me, too. I'm glad I'm going to be with you and the twins." Kaguya let out a small giggle and looked lovingly at the babies in their arms.

"Though I have to admit, when I saw you lying surrounded by blood and not responding to anyone anymore, I have lost hope. A part of me had been dying inside. For a moment, I thought I have lost you." He sighed heavily and pulled Kaguya against him with a free arm. "Don't scare me like that again, my love."

"Don't worry, I won't. I promised I will be with you until we're going to be old and I intend to keep my promise." She answered and leaned against him so that she could cuddle against her husband, looking up to him. Xander used to opportunity of her being so close, he leaned in and planted a small kiss on her lips.

"Yes… I intend to do so as well." He looked like he wanted to add something when Siegbert started to wail in his arms, throwing him into a small panic. Kaguya then insisted on changing with Xander so that he held Vivianne and put Siegbert against her chest, bouncing him a bit until his cries grew smaller.

"You look quite motherly." Her beloved muttered, watching her in awe.

"Well, I am a mother now."

"Yes… yes, you are." She could hear him adding quietly "...of my children…"with joy in his voice which made her smile. He continued watching her calming Siegbert, himself rocking Vivianne in his arms as she wriggled in her sleep.

Following Kaguya's recovery, she was visited by her friends and family who were glad to see her alive and well as well as congratulating her on the birth. In the evening, Camilla brought her own son to meet his cousins, but Shiro looked thoroughly confused by the situation, grabbing Siegbert's hand in the end with a giggle.

Without her even really realizing it, four months have passed and Kaguya felt her strength returning to her so that she started to train with the others again, although Xander objected at first.

She returned from a light training session with Hinoka when she spotted Xander in the courtyard, holding Vivianne in his arms who was wriggling, talking to his retainers. She still found it funny that while he allowed others to hold Siegbert, he strictly refused so when anyone asked to hold Vivianne. He had even said no to Leo who promptly said that he was way too overprotective over his daughter. Kaguya also had a feeling that Vivianne was going to have a hard time with her father when she will find a husband on her own.

"Where's Siegbert?" Kaguya asked as she approached her husband who straightened Vivianne's swaddling clothes.

"He's sleeping. Azura is looking over him." Xander replied, smiling faintly as Vivianne bubbled, kicking her legs in his arms with her big brown eyes looking at her mother. Kaguya reached out and touched Vivianne's small hands which had gripped Xander's shirt.

"I see, that's good. Considering he had been awake almost the entire night wailing, it's good that he's sleeping." She sighed, the twins had started to teeth so they often randomly cried - though Vivianne did less than Siegbert.

"Yes, though if he keeps crying like that I wonder whether he will be suited for fighting." Xander let out a sigh, but Kaguya almost immediately reprimanded her husband, telling him that he was just a little baby and he shouldn't be so stern with him.

"I know, I know. It was just a small jest." Xander smiled. "But on a different matter, how was your training session?"

"It was pretty good! I thought I have rusted a bit, but as things turned out I'm fine. I managed to best Hinoka during training today." She clasped her hands together and looked proud of herself. Xander nodded in return and changed his hold on Vivianne so he could reach out and stroke through Kaguya's hair with a proud expression.

"Well done. I'm proud of you, dear. You deserve a reward for this." He said and Kaguya felt herself growing hopeful. They hadn't been intimate since she found out she was pregnant and he had been refusing to touch her afterwards, almost as if scared to touch her which made her wonder whether he even desired her at all.

"Can I choose?" She asked, devising a plan in her head to get her husband to touch her - this time, he wouldn't be able to refuse.

"Sure, whatever you wish."

"Then let's go to the hot springs together after the children are asleep." She pointed to the hot springs behind her. "Just the two of us."

Xander winced and his ears grew red, yet he nodded in agreement before hiding his face behind Viviane who gripped her father's golden hair.

"Ah, careful. Don't pull so strongly." He quickly pulled his hair out of the tiny fist and Kaguya laughed seeing him scold Vivianne for pulling on his hair while their daughter only replied with a squeal.

Kaguya got the twins to sleep in the late evening, glad that Reina has agreed on watching out for them. She had been feeling giddy the entire day after Xander had agreed on going into the hot springs with her and she made sure no one will be able to interrupt them.

Hurrying over to the building, she entered the women's changing rooms and stripped her clothes before reaching for a towel and stepping into the bathing area. Xander was already in the water, looking like he was enjoying himself but when he heard Kaguya approach he stood up and held out a hand. Kaguya put her hand into his and he helped her enter the water, sitting down together.

"It feels good. I haven't been in here in an eternity."

"Yes, though it's a shame we don't have any hot springs in Nohr." Xander answered and put his arm around her to pull her closer. He placed her between his legs and put his arms around her from behind, pulling her close against his muscular chest. Since he was much taller than she is, it felt like his whole body was embracing her.

"It's really a shame. I wonder if we can have one built…?" Kaguya replied, lost in thoughts as she wondered how she could get Xander to fall into her little trap. Suddenly, she felt his lips stroke over the nape of her neck and she jumped in surprise, blushing.

"Do you think I don't know about your little plan, little princess?" He muttered against her skin. "Inviting me here so that we will have some _time alone_."

"Uhm… that…" She stuttered, cursing herself for having so obvious thoughts and that he looked right through her. She turned around to look at him to see Xander smiling knowingly at her. "Well, I wanted to be with you all alone. It was a long time ago since we had time just for us."

"I know, but… I just… worry about you. When I think something like four months ago could happen to you again…" His voice sounded pained and Kaguya sighed. She turned around, putting her legs left and right next to his hips so that she straddled him and cupped his cheeks.

"It's all right, Xander. I'm fine now and obviously came through just fine. See?" She took his hand and put it against her chest, in the spot where her heart is located so he could feel her heartbeat. "I'm alive, and with you. And I most certainly won't leave. There's a war to be won, so many rely on me and I know you and our children need me."

"Yes, I know." Xander raised his brows and smiled wryly. "I know you are tough, but if you ever start feeling unwell you have to tell me right away. If not, it will have consequences."

"I will, I promise." She said and put her hands back on his cheeks, leaning in to kiss his forehead and the place between his brows which was wrinkled due to his constant frown. "I love you, Xander."

"Oh. I wanted to be the first to say that." Xander put on a small pout. "But I love you too, my little princess."

Their faces drew closer and their lips met, his arms around her tightened and his hands started to skim over her body which made Kaguya's heart jump in excitement. Her body grew hotter as they continued kissing and touching each other, eventually becoming one in the process.


	16. Chapter XV

**Chapter XV**

The sounds of little voices talking carried over to Kaguya who was standing in the kitchen of the Mess Hall, happy that she managed to make tea without burning anything this time. It was time she learned how to do that, she couldn't just rely on Jakob or Felicia to always make her tea - or meals.

She looked from the kettle on the stove over to the table closest to her where five little children were sitting; her twins Siegbert and Vivianne, Shigure and Saizo Junior who had snuck into the kitchen in the hope to get some sweets. Kaguya was watching over the older children while the others have gone to fight.

It had been nearly five years since Siegbert and Vivianne were brought into the world and the time approached they all went to Valla and fight Anankos. With each passing day Kaguya grew more and more tense, but she tried her best to stay calm as her allies don't need more stress. The children also did not need to grow scared, they knew that their parents were fighting in a war but she tries to tell them they were going to live in a more peaceful time soon.

The children were arguing about something which she hadn't heard, but their small heads were stuck together and they all looked serious which she found incredibly adorable.

She finished brewing the tea and put some sweets on a plate which she brought the children, reprimanding Saizo when he tried to grab all at once.

"Share with the others, Saizo."

Saizo only let out of small grumble, but he let the others have some sweets as well and she watched Vivianne using magic to cool down the tea to an easily drinkable temperature. It made her smile to see her daughter being able to utilize her magic abilities in that way. Kaguya had early noticed that Vivianne had a vast amount of magic power as she had used it accidentally which prompted her to ask Aria to teach Vivianne to use magic. It was difficult at first as she had no control over it and the tomes burned when she touched them, but then Aria gifted her with a special tome which helped her greatly. On the other hand, Siegbert receives sword and lance training from Xander who seemed to enjoy teaching his son. Ryoma often taught Shiro while Xander was and while Siegbert was listening to his father, Ryoma regularly was beaten on the head by Shiro and then chased him over the entire training grounds.

She proudly looked at her children who have grew quite a lot, their hair has started to curl in a similar manner Xander's is and she thought they look a lot like their father while Xander still insists he sees more of her in them.

Five long years had passed since she gave birth, and yet she felt like it was very short and after she had her children the other couples that had formed during the war also became parents.

She reached out and patted her twins' heads and while Siegbert enjoyed the affectionate gesture, Vivianne shook her head to get her hand off her. In the past few months she has grown a bit rebellious, she often did not listen to them and cooped up in the library reading all kinds of books on tactics. Ever since Aria told her about having been the strategist of a close friend and has lead him into battle which seemed to have inspired her to become one as well. Kaguya had to force her to go outside and play with her brother or the other children than simply sit behind a pile of books and try out some magic spells from time to time.

"Mommy." Siegbert was pulling on her sleeve and she looked over to her son who was looking up to her with his big brown eyes and she felt a swell of affection towards him looking into his innocent eyes. "When is Daddy coming home?"

"He should be returning soon." She stroked over his head once more while Saizo across the table grinned at him.

"You shouldn't be whimpering and simply wait. The guys are going be back soon, after all." He told Siegbert who pouted and hid his face in his mother's arms who had sat next to him.

"Don't bully him, Saizo." Vivianne said, but Saizo only stuck out his tongue continuing to munch on the sweets. Kaguya sighed and then looked over to Shigure who had been sitting quietly by the table with his hands around the tea cup.

"What's wrong, Shigure?"

"Uhm… is Mama going to be all right?"

"Of course. She just needs a bit of rest and quiet. She's going to be up in a few days." Kaguya answered and smiled at her nephew who still looked uncertain. Azura had caught a faint fever in the past week and as she was pregnant with her and Leo's second child she was ordered to bed rest. Shigure had been fussing over his mother since then but when the healers said that Azura needed to have a quiet environment, Kaguya took Shigure with her and made him and the others some food.

Shigure slid off his seat and went over to Kaguya and she took him onto her lap to comfort him, stroking over his pale blue hair. Kaguya found it funny that all the children sitting by the table were having blue hair, including her. While Shigure inherited almost his entire appearance from his mother, Saizo was a mix between his father and Beruka - including having his mother's hair color.

Outside Kaguya could hear Rinkah in the courtyard trying to get her son Ignatius to collect the berries from the fields without crying because of bugs and a bit further away Effie was training while Sophie was close by and mimicked her mother's movements and then there was Oboro in the back of the Mess Hall doing some work with cloth while Kiragi was wrapped to her chest with a scarf and slept contently, only his dark blue hair peeking out.

"They are back." Suddenly Vivianne said and slid off her seat. "I'm going to go and greet Daddy first."

She shot her brother a challenging smile and then ran out of the building, Siegbert only shouted that it wasn't far and rushed after his sister.

"Why are they in a hurry? It's not like they are going to run away." Saizo also went outside and though he might not show it, he seemed to be happy that his parents returned. Kaguya cradled Shigure in her arms as she got up as well and went to greet her husband.

She soon spotted Xander and he laughed as the twins were clinging to him though he picked them up and both hugged him. She first walked over to Leo and deposited Shigure in his father's arms while she went over to her beloved and gave him a kiss while the twins hid their eyes behind their faces with a disgusted expression. Siegbert even blushed a little which Kaguya found incredibly adorable.

"Did you two behave while I was out?" Xander asked looking down at his children.

"Siegbert cried in bed yesterday because you were gone longer than you promised."

"V-Vivi!"

Siegbert shot his sister a horrified expression while she only laughed at him. The boy grew bright red in shame and looked at his father but he only shook his head.

"It's fine, Siegbert. I apologize for coming this late. I promise I'll make up for you." Xander then turned to his daughter. "And you, did you stuck your little nose into books for hours again?"

"Uhm…" Vivianne winced, almost like she was caught doing mischief and scratched her head.

"She did, she wouldn't have came outside if Mommy hadn't dragged her outside!"

"Sieg! Stop that! Daddy's going to scold us!"

"You're the one that started it!"

They continued bickering and Kaguya laughed at their arguments, happy that they wouldn't hit each other. Xander only let out a sigh, but smiled.

"I never said I'm going to scold any of you. Now be nice to each other."

As both of them were more or less scared of talking back to Xander the two of them kept their mouths shut and nodded. With the twins still in his arms, he moved over to the Mess Hall where they all could sit down together and keep talking. The twins were eager to tell their father what has happened during the past few days he was gone until they finally were too tired and Kaguya brought them to their beds, tuckered them in and kissed their forehead.

"At last, they didn't even let me say a word." She said as she stepped out to see Xander standing there. "How was the mission?"

"It went well, but the Faceless are growing more and more intense as the time goes on. I hope we can soon enter that wretched kingdom and bring everything to an end. I would like to bring our children to Nohr, but as the people are getting easily corrupted I'm not convinced it is a good idea to do now." He said and put his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. Kaguya also wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder with a content sigh, happy to have him back home again in one piece.

"Just a little bit more and we are going to live in a more peaceful time." She said looking up at him with a smile. "I'm just happy you returned safe. I was really worried when you have been gone for a longer time than we calculated you would."

"There have been some problems that arose and that we should check out in the next few days, especially about the Faceless and the portal in the Bottomless Canyon." Xander raised his hand and stroked over her head. "I think we should go with a few of our allies."

"That's a good idea. We should talk about it tomorrow with everyone."

In the following days, the soldiers moved out and the children were left alone with the caretakers and the women who couldn't go because of pregnancy.

Vivianne had gone away from the other children, especially because Shiro and Saizo were pulling pranks on others which she found annoying. She loved it more sitting in the bay window in the library and reading one of the books about tactical movements during battles and how to analyze the enemies or own allies' strength and weaknesses. Others might have said that the books might be too advanced for some children, but she understood every word and could easily memorize them.

She skipped through some pages without any interest and took one look outside to see her brother running over the courtyard, followed by Shiro who was holding worm in his hand. It made her smile as she never thought her brother was such a wimp to be afraid of worms like Ignatius was - or maybe they have been putting them into his clothes.

She closed the book and put it away as she slid down her seat and winced as she had a feeling of being watched. However, looking around she wondered who it might be as no one was around. Vivianne shook her head and headed out into the courtyard to join her brother and friends.

"V-Viviii!" Siegbert noticed her right away as she stepped outside and ran towards her. "Take it off me!"

"Got a worm in your trousers?"

"No! In my hair!" He leaned his head to Vivianne who had no problems taking a look on the top of his head as she was taller than him and combed through his azure locks to find the worm because of which he was freaking out.

"There, it's gone." Vivianne said and threw the worm onto the ground. "You really need to man up if you want to become a fine ruler. Who is going to take a king serious who's afraid of little critters?"

Siegbert glared at Vivianne and grumbled under his breath.

"It's not my fault Shiro and Asugi put them in my clothes."

"Asugi?"

"Saizo. He insists on us calling him Asugi since his father is already Saizo."

"That's right!" Asugi said as he appeared behind Siegbert who let out a shriek and jumped behind his sister which made Asugi snicker. "Really? Hiding behind your little sister?"

"That's... that's..." Siegbert stumbled over his words and Vivianne let out a sigh.

"Stop teasing him or I'll keep calling you Saizo, or even Saizo Junior."

"Wha...?!"

Before Asugi could even say anything, Vivianne grabbed her twin's hand and pulled him along to the garden where she had spotted Shigure sitting on the ground drawing something with Shiro looming over him, his head tilted as if he was trying to make out what the other boy was drawing.

"Heey, look who has decided to come out." Shiro grinned as he looked up. "Did the books grew tired of you?"

"Well, better learning something that might come in handy later than spending the whole day fishing the pond empty."

Shiro only let out a huff and pouted as the young princess let go of her brother's hand and leaned over Shigure's shoulder to see what her cousin was drawing.

"Is that your mother?"

"Uhm... yes." Shigure said but looked embarrassed and hid the sketch behind his hand. Apparently he thought that it was not good enough and thus did not wanted to show it to the others.

"Well, since we are all together now – let's play something!" Shiro said while puffing his chest out.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Dunno. Maybe something to test our skills."

"That sounds stupid. Let's do something else."

"So why don't you propose a game then?"

Shiro and Asugi glared at each other and Vivianne sighed, having grown tired of their constant squabble.

"Then let's play hide-and-seek."

"But...!" The three other boys were about to protest, but Vivianne glared at them.

"We are going to play hide-and-seek. No back talk!"

"Fine..."

They all then scattered in the courtyard and Vivianne had grabbed Shigure's hand to hide with him as her meek cousin was not the best one at the game.

"Here, the bushes are thick enough so Shiro won't spot us." She said and ushered Shigure into the shrubbery while she herself climbed inside after him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm going to be a master strategist, so I have to know these things." Vivianne replied and peeked through a small hole to see where her cousin was. However, she couldn't see him anywhere and only heard laughter from not too far away and her brother shouting "Not fair!"

They hadn't been hiding for too long when Shigure suddenly started to tug on the hem of Vivianne's clothing. She looked around to him to ask what he wanted but Shigure only had a distressed expression pointing to the gates where weird semi-invisible things crawled in.

Though she had never seen them with her own eyes, Vivianne knew exactly what they were from the times she had overheard her parents talking and jumped onto her feet. Just in that moment the soldiers bustled through the courtyard which indicated that the astral castle was under attack and Vivianne pulled Shigure onto his feet.

"Come, we have to retreat to the castle!"

With the help of the soldiers, Vivianne and Shigure were led back to the castle but she couldn't see her brother anywhere and looked around – but Siegbert was nowhere to be seen.

She finally spotted him when she was nearly in safety, hiding from the Faceless behind the statue of the Dusk Dragon. He was all alone with the fiends creeping up to him.

"Sieg!" She turned around and ran towards her brother although the soldiers were trying to keep her back, but she shook them off. Her feet carried her across the courtyard and she pushed Siegbert out of the way as a Faceless raised its sword on him, feeling the blade cut the skin on her cheek.

"Vivi! You..."

"Out of the way!" Vivianne shouted and raised her hand as she concentrated, using her magic for the first time to strike down enemies which caused them to be enveloped in bright blue flames and burst into ashes. Unfortunately, more Faceless came towards them and Vivianne tried to continue using her magic, but for some reason she could not summon her powers. She started to feel dread, scared that Siegbert and she might be struck down but heard a loud shout from behind them. A familiar face jumped in front of them, sword ready in hand.

"Siegbert! Vivianne! Are you all right?!"

"Daddy!" Vivianne shouted as she saw her father who stood protectively in front of the twins and pointed Siegfried at the Faceless.

"We're fine."

But Xander seemed to not be satisfied and swung his blade to defeat the fiends which disappeared in loud shrieks. He then turned around to his children and crouched down to their eye level, looking angrier than Vivianne had ever seen him and winced when he reached out his hand to her.

"I don't see you being fine. You have been injured." He said and slightly touched Vivianne's cheek who put a hand to the cut, feeling the warm wet blood.

"It's fine. I have prevented them from hurting Sieg." Vivianne replied and looked over to her brother who was gripping her hand tightly.

"That doesn't mean you need to put yourself into harm's way." Xander sighed as he picked up the two of them. "Let's go and let a healer look at that injury."

Kaguya was more worried than Xander when she saw her daughter being injured and although the cut was healed immediately with no scar surfacing, she couldn't help but fuss over Vivianne who was rather elated she had managed to defeat some enemies with her magic. She felt it had been a better practice than the usual and bragged to the other children about her accomplishment.

"It's fine, Vivi. You will be able to fight them in the future." Kaguya said as she put her daughter to bed, though secretly hoped her children would never have to fight the Faceless. "But you should go to sleep now or you're going to be tired tomorrow."

"All right. But can you tell me a story?"

"Of course. Now listen..." Kaguya then proceeded to tell her daughter the story Xander had been telling her when she was little and sighed relieved when Vivianne fell asleep. She reached out and stroked over her little girl's cheek, but the injury was gone and she felt no scar under her fingers.

"Thank the gods. I don't know what I would have done if you or Siegbert would have been hurt." She leaned in and kissed Vivianne's forehead before getting up and walking out of the room and towards the office which her husband used.

"Are they asleep?" Xander asked sitting by the desk and looking through some documents which were sent from Nohr.

"Yes, finally. They had been insisting on me telling them stories. I guess they had been quite flustered after the attack – it was the first time they witnessed it."

"Indeed. We should have checked security more thoroughly before we left. No, I should have done that. Otherwise Vivianne wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"Please, Xander. It's obviously not your fault." Kaguya sighed and walked around the desk and put her arms around her husband's shoulders. "We'll just keep an eye out for them the next time. And since the portal to the kingdom opens in less than a week, it's going to be over soon."

"Yes. We shall make sure our children will stay safe."

However, Xander's promise was not fulfilled as a few days later Kaguya ran through the castle, searching for her daughter.

Vivianne had been in a small room nearby to the library reading books and Kaguya had visited her there, but now she was nowhere to be found. She had a bad feeling and returned to the room, only to see books and the chair her daughter sat on knocked over. Alarmed by it, she told the others to search for the young princess but no one saw her and she couldn't have ran past Kaguya as she would have seen Vivianne otherwise.

Everyone has searched for Vivianne, but no matter how hard they looked the little girl was gone.

"Where could she have gone...?" Kaguya muttered, her heart filled with fear. She had already checked the entire astral castle safe for the chapel where Aria was usually. Maybe her aunt had a hint to where her daughter might have gone to.

Kaguya opened the doors to the chapel to see Aria pacing back and forth with a severe expression on her face.

"Aria, my daughter-"

"Yes, about that." Aria sighed and stopped, looking at Kaguya. "I have felt a power similar to my brother's in the castle not so long ago. And there was the aura of some entities which entered and left, although it shouldn't be possible. The Outrealms are closed off due to Anankos, but a portal had been closed and opened. I wonder..."

"Yes, yes. But what about Vivianne?!"

"I fear that those entities that entered had been here for your daughter... and took her to wherever they came from."

"What?! Where have they gone off to?! We have to follow..."

"I already told you that I cannot open the Outrealms due to Anankos interfering in the powers. Also, somehow he had managed to change the time we are in – the skies between Nohr and Hoshido are not going to change in a week. I fear it's going to be some years until that happens. I wonder what his plans are."

"Then..."

"It seems like we can't do anything. I'm afraid your daughter is lost in the depths of the Outrealms with us not having an opportunity to find her again. I'm sorry, Kaguya."

Aria's words echoed in Kaguya's head as she fell to her knees, her heart felt like it scattered in a thousand pieces.

Her precious little daughter, taken from them into an unknown world.

They will probably never see her again.

With a loud scream tears started to run down Kaguya's face as she crumbled to the ground, sorrow filling her heart.


End file.
